I attended the Education Abroad Expo on September 4, 2018, in the Archie Griffin Ballroom of the Union. This event relates to the topic of International Affairs because it centers around sending students to countries all over the world to study various topics. One thing that I gained from this event was learning about the field studies programs. A woman talked with me about how these trips, which go to Australia, Bhutan, Costa Rica, Tanzania, Panama, and Turks and Caicos, integrate the possibility to observe animals in their natural habitats. This is mainly a research opportunity, which is something that I personally would be interested in. This event reminded me of a time last semester, in my biology class, when a TA talked about the research he did on animals in Antartica- his research seemed amazing, and it is exciting that there’s an opportunity for me to get involved in the same field of work. Although this opportunity seems amazing, I am still wondering what kind of credits I would receive for going on this trip. I do not want to go on a trip that wouldn’t count towards a credit that I need, and am wondering what this trip would count towards.
If I could design an ideal education abroad trip, I would choose to study in Greece, learning about some course that relates to Health Sciences. I would choose Greece because it is an absolutely beautiful country. When I wasn’t in the classroom, I would be at the beach and snorkeling in the bright blue waters there. I would want to be in a country where the people are friendly and the weather is good, and Greece seems to capture both of these expectations of mine. Ideally, the course that I would take would cover one of my major classes for the Health Science program. I would want to be working towards my degree, as well as spending time in a beautiful country.
This experience would open me up to the world and allow me to grow internally. I have never been out of the country, and am eager to be experiencing new people and cultures. This experience would also help me become more independent and learn how to travel by myself. I want to gain the skills of being able to navigate around a new country and learn the means of transportation there. I would want to be abroad 4 weeks at the most. My sister has been gone 6 weeks before and that seems like too much time. I feel like I would start to get homesick after a little while. The experience would be amazing though, and spending four weeks abroad would push me out of my comfort zone and allow me to experience new things.
This event made me think about my Second Year Project, and I am considering looking into a study abroad program and doing my project on that. I have always wanted to study abroad, and after attending this event, it has encouraged me to do further research on study abroad trips.