Abroad programs offer diverse opportunities
By William Duffee
For those students who are agonizing over the choice between the Mexico and Border Studies programs, or among the three solely English-language abroad programs, the Word has investigated five programs whose applications are due in three weeks, on March 5.
Mexico
Comunidades y Cambio, Earlham’s spring-semester Mexico program, focuses on developing a deeper knowledge of social movements and community action. Much of the research is done in the field, which participant John White, senior human development and social relations and Spanish and Hispanic studies double major, attributed as being the most positive aspect of the program.
“Getting out of the classroom … adds a whole other level to learning and being in the world, and opens you up to a different perspective of how to see things and how to interact,” White said.
However, White also advised future participants not to get carried away with the freedom of the new environment.
“It’s not just a vacation and a time to explore,” he said. “An agenda [is] there.”
White said that the personal aspect of the program was a key point for him.
“I think a really important thing is trying to communicate with people and get out there and making that your academic experience,” he said. “Not reading books, but reading people.”
The program is relatively small when compared to other international programs, as it will “ideally consist of six students,” according to the program’s web site. It also requires participants to have taken Spanish 301 or have an equivalent proficiency in the language.
England
Earlham’s program based in London, England, is a veteran of the international programs, going back to 1961. The program’s Web site says the coursework includes “the opportunity to study British politics, science, literature and theater.”
Participant Will Katz, senior English major, said that the program permitted much time for options other than the coursework.
“There was a lot more free time than we had thought, so we weren’t … doing homework all day,” Katz said. “We still did plenty of work but the workload was reduced enough that we had tons of time to explore.”
Participant Will Vincent, senior biochemistry major, agreed.
“It was a really independent semester for me,” Vincent said. “We had so much control over what we were doing.”
This independence allowed many opportunities. Katz often partook in a local soccer league while Vincent bought a bike and explored as much as he could.
Katz emphasized that while the language is the same, “it is a very different culture.”
Vincent praised the program overall.
“I wouldn’t say that going abroad is for everyone … but … it’s definitely the best experience, as far as the best semester I’ve had,” he said.
Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland program provides a hands-on experience in conflict and conflict transformation. Participants engage in courses at the University of Ulster and also do a field placement for five weeks.
“It’s a really good way of getting firsthand experience not just in how conflict works, but also in how we’re going about adapting to and changing that conflict,” said participant Alex Wheeldon, senior human development and social relations major.
“It’s a really interesting and a really intense conflict,” said participant Helen Staab, senior psychology major. “I found it very challenging … to make sense of everything.”
While the program focuses on the conflict, Wheeldon said that some of the most prominent aspects of the program were “the natural beauty of Ireland and the cultural beauty of Ireland.”
Both Wheeldon and Staab complimented the local culture and music of Derry, where the program takes place.
However, Staab mentioned that she wasn’t naturally comfortable in the culture. “I wasn’t prepared to feel as foreign as I did,” she said. “You stand out like a sore thumb.”
Wheeldon advised prospective participants to not expect an easy program. “I expected the program to be … maybe not easy, but as going off without any difficulties at all,” he said. “And that’s not quite how it went down – it was more challenging than I thought it would be.”
When asked about why a prospective participant should choose Northern Ireland’s program, Staab immediately responded “Mervyn Love,” the program coordinator. “He pretty much makes the program,” she said.
Wheeldon agreed. “Mervyn Love is perhaps the nicest human being anyone will ever meet. [He] is one of the best things about that program.”
Border Studies
The Border Studies Program is Earlham’s own international program for the Great Lakes Colleges Association, which consists of 12 other schools besides Earlham.
The program is offered in both the fall and the spring, though the semesters have different focuses.
The fall semester concentrates on the political development of international borders and how it affects society and the environment. Field study and travel into Mexico are included.
The spring semester focuses on migration and immigration policy. As such, this semester involves deeper travel into Mexico than the fall semester, as well as an independent research project in addition to field study.
“There was a lot of hands-on learning,” said senior Callie Thompson, peace and global studies major, who went on the spring semester program. “There was certainly a lot of in-the-classroom instruction and homework assignments, but for the most part it was getting out there [and] talking to people.”
Thompson said that the research project taught her more about “how to conduct interviews [and] how to lead a more sophisticated investigation.”
“Now I’m writing my thesis and now I have that [research] background,” she said.
Thompson added that the program changed more than her academic abilities.
“I am a completely different person,” she said. “I’m stronger and I’m smarter and I know how to turn the energy I have to help into something productive … the program really teaches you how to be an activist as well as a witness for peace.”
New Zealand
The New Zealand program focuses on environmental studies and outdoor education. This program utilizes New Zealand’s ecological communities and cultural background to provide both scholastic and experiential learning experience.
Students take classes at the University of Canterbury in the city of Christchurch but also engage in field study and numerous excursions for outdoor study.
Students also interact with the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand.
“I think one of the things that everyone enjoyed the most of the program was a canoe trip we did with these Maori guides,” said senior Topher Weiss-Lehman, biology major. “I think everyone found that to be a fairly meaningful experience, to get a better feeling for the culture.”
Weiss-Lehman said of the New Zealanders, “They’re actually trying to embrace the Maori culture as a shareholder in the culture along with the European culture they brought with them. So it provides a really unique perspective on relations between the colonizers and indigenous people.”
Weiss-Lehman also said that the program’s focus on the environment allowed students to challenge what he thought was a common belief.
“Individual New Zealanders … they view their country as being very green and sustainable,” he said. “It’s interesting to come in as an outsider, see that and then also be able to, as you’re living in the culture, think critically of those kinds of perceptions.”
For more information, visit the IPO’s Web site at www.earlham.edu/ipo/.
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