By Bianca Singh
With all the new study abroad options, many students are starting to plan their year, semester or summers abroad. But with all planning comes the idea of cultural expectations and academic maturity.
Aside from just pure culture shock, studying abroad leads students to higher levels of maturity when they are challenged to live differently than in Portland. On top of being in another country and facing the initial cultural change, students take classes while trying to adapt to their cities' local norms.
This summer I studied abroad in Spain. One of the biggest challenges most people faced was balancing school work and exploring the Spanish culture. But those students who were just there for the academic aspect found that learning in another country had more to do with cultural immersion than just academic knowledge.
On the other hand, many students try to dive right into the culture and forget that they are actually paying to attend classes and earn good grades.
So where's the happy medium?
Study abroad programs should be set up so that the societal and cultural aspects of the country guide the course material beyond just the text and classroom content. For example, taking a class that focuses on poetry would not be as beneficial as a class that focused on the historical aspects that shaped the country in which you were studying. Although this is the goal for many study abroad programs, sometimes the main focus of the class is drawn away from cultural immersion to a more academically centered curriculum.
As students, we study abroad so we can broaden our knowledge of different places and their impacts on our education. Why not use all the resources a country has to offer to shape a class?
