The event that I attended was the Education Abroad Expo on September 4th at the Ohio Union. This event relates to International Affairs because it literally involves students traveling to foreign countries in order to gain new experiences. This event provided insight into the types of study abroad programs available for students at Ohio State and helped me to narrow my study abroad interests. I have always wanted to study abroad, and learn more about how people in other parts of the world live. I have a particular interest in countries that have french as an official language as I like to think of myself as somewhat conversational in french, and would like to improve my abilities. This expo related to french classes that I have taken because we often compare cultures of french speaking countries with the United States, and this expo showed the opportunities available to me to be able to experience these cultures.
As of now, I intend to pursue nursing, and do humanitarian work in foreign countries when I have time. Helping others that are not as fortunate is important to me and I would like to travel to third world countries with organizations such as smile train to help other people with basic procedures that can make profound impacts on their lives. A family friend is a nurse that has done a decent amount of humanitarian work, and she seems to have really gained a lot from it, thus I would like to do the same. She said that it is such a rewarding experience because some people live with treatable conditions for years, then doctors and nurses come in, treat them, and their responses are indescribable.
If I could design my own education abroad program, it would be in a third world country that speaks french. Being able to speak directly with patients, even if my french is only proficient, would be much more beneficial than using a translator, and it would help me to improve my conversational abilities. I would like for the program to be with doctors and nurses whom I could shadow, and get first hand experience. This program would be the best of both worlds for me, as I would like to better learn french via immersion and help people in need. I think this program would benefit me personally as I would be forced to experience cultures entirely different than my own, and it could help me see the world in a different way. This experience could also help me to be grateful for all of the things I have available to me such as food, medical care, education, and so many more things.
I think this type of program would be most beneficial to my career goals, as I would witness basic medical procedures, while also making an impact on people without access to decent medical care. I would want this program to take place over the summer for a month at the most. This is because I feel that a week or two is not enough time to build solid relationships with patients, and over a month would be too long for me, as I may eventually feel homesick.