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CarolynLawrence
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
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Posted: Mon Mar 3rd, 2008 01:32 am |
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Just thought I'd start a thread about study abroad. My daughter has just found out that she'll be spending a semester in India next spring. I know that someone's daughter, but can't remember whose, just went on a January trip to India. But, I'd love to hear where everyone else's kids are thinking about studying abroad, and, if they've already gone, how their experience was.
(My daughter will also be home for spring break in exactly 21 minutes. But who's counting?) 
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Lynda
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Posted: Mon Mar 3rd, 2008 03:40 am |
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Carolyn,
Happy time with your daughter. India, how exciting. Son's freshman seminar was about India and it's people. I have several friends at work from India. The country seems so amazing. Love the food also.
Son was worried about graduating on time if he went abroad. I am sorry he didn't go, he actually had no trouble graduating in 4 yrs.
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outwest
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Posted: Mon Mar 3rd, 2008 06:19 am |
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India, how neat! Is it a program run by Beloit or by another school? I hope you are having a wonderful time visiting with your D!
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mominva
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Posted: Mon Mar 3rd, 2008 09:45 am |
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It was my DD who spent January term in India.
It was the inaugural trip for this course/team, so there were a couple of glitches. She was glad to have had the opportunity, especially as a freshman, but it isn't a place she'll likely revisit.
She is taking Italian now, and next year, in anticipation of a semester in Italy in junior year.
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limner
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| Joined: | Sun Jul 16th, 2006 |
| Location: | Tennessee USA |
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Posted: Mon Mar 3rd, 2008 11:26 am |
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How exciting for your D, Carolyn! I lived in India for a year about, ahem, 40 years ago. I imagine it's changed a bit since then, sigh.
What will your D be studying while there?
My S is planning on going to the UK in Jan. 09. It's through the English department, and he'll have an essay-writing course, a theatre course (they'll go to about three plays a week!), and one other one I can't remember at the moment.
Enjoy your D's spring break!
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mackinaw
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Posted: Mon Mar 3rd, 2008 07:06 pm |
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My son spent a year at the London School of Economics -- some years ago. It was a great experience for him, and he was able as well to use it as a taking off point for various trips in the British Isles and the continent. The only problem was that it sort of messed up the continuity of study in his major and he ended up not getting a senior honors thesis advisor at Chicago (though he did graduate with "general honors" based on GPA).
My daughter spent only a summer abroad, at a art/design program near Milan. Again a very good experience. She couldn't have found the time in her program for a semester abroad, though some of her RISD classmates did.
I think almost any kind of study abroad experience can be really valuable. I regret I never had one.
Last edited on Mon Mar 3rd, 2008 07:55 pm by mackinaw
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Mezzomom
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Posted: Mon Mar 3rd, 2008 11:39 pm |
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My daughter's in the process of getting approval for fall quarter next year at Africa University in Zimbabwe. We don't expect any problem with getting the approval; we are watching the political situation closely, since Zimbabwe has elections in March. I don't think there's much doubt who/which party will win the "elections", but after watching Kenya implode, my daughter and I are monitoring things from day to day.
Most of my friends think I'm nuts for "allowing" my daughter travel to Zimbabwe, but there are mitigating circumstances with Africa U that ease my mind. Robert Mugabe tends to view the selection of Zimbabwe for Africa U as one of his achievements, so it's been de facto protected from some of the unrest. And they have their own farm, wells, and power substation, so food, water, and electricity are available on a bit more regular basis than elsewhere in the country. It's not going to be an easy experience, but I have no doubt it will be at least educational, if not life-changing.
Still, there are days when I wonder why I couldn't have had a kid who thought a quarter in Toronto would be "exotic" enough for her tastes!
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leftcoast
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Posted: Tue Mar 4th, 2008 01:12 am |
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Well, my daughter has lined up a summer internship with a UN agency in New Delhi from June through August. It is my d's responsibility to arrange her own housing. She's looking at Craigslist.
As far as study abroad, she's planning on going to South Africa next spring (2009).
Last edited on Tue Mar 4th, 2008 01:13 am by leftcoast
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outwest
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Posted: Tue Mar 4th, 2008 05:35 am |
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My oldest D went to Berlin for a semester. She lived with a local family. She took the opportunity to stay over after the program was done and travel for about three weeks in May. They also went on a bunch of excursions to Greece, Sarayevo, etc. It was through SIT and the program wasn't that terrific, but the traveling was. 
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CalifCarolyn
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Posted: Mon May 26th, 2008 06:51 am |
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My older daughter spent last fall in Lyon France. Northeastern University's School of Business has a program there. It was a great experience...and we visited her there for Thanksgiving. What a time for growth!
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Lupine
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Posted: Tue May 27th, 2008 02:21 am |
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Well, for anyone planning on a study abroad trip to a country with a different language, may I recommend the Pimsleur CD series? D found it gave her a very good starting point, though it is spendy. (If you do buy want to buy it, note that you can find a number of companies that sell it at a substantial discount to list price, and several of them buy back the gently used CDs for $100 a set.)
The other suggestion is that you take a good look at mailing restrictions before your students packs up -- there are things that you are not allowed to mail (ridiculous things, like leather belts) that are perfectly fine to put in the suitcase. We would have packed just a bit differently had we but known. Finding out what is and isn't easily available locally is a help. A friend's daughter went to Spain and found that it was virtually impossible to find ladies shoes equivalent to a size 11, though clothing was easily available in a wide range of sizes and styles.
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warblers
Member
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Posted: Tue May 27th, 2008 02:41 pm |
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Cyprus and Wales. I loved both places, although the climates were a bit extreme. 
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Kareni
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| Joined: | Wed May 16th, 2007 |
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Posted: Tue May 27th, 2008 11:53 pm |
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I concur as regards the Pimsleur CDs. My daughter used the Italian program before taking a spring break trip to Italy last year and she found them well worth her time. We found them at our public library, so that may be one way to save some dollars. Lupine is correct in that they are not inexpensive.
Regards,
Kareni
Lupine wrote: Well, for anyone planning on a study abroad trip to a country with a different language, may I recommend the Pimsleur CD series? D found it gave her a very good starting point, though it is spendy. (If you do buy want to buy it, note that you can find a number of companies that sell it at a substantial discount to list price, and several of them buy back the gently used CDs for $100 a set.)
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leftcoast
Member
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Posted: Wed May 28th, 2008 01:01 am |
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I googled Pimsleur and apparently they sell starter sets for $19.95 -- see:
http://www.pimsleurapproach.com/ .... so it might not be so expensive to try it out. The starter sets have about 4 hours of instruction (plus a money back guarantee)
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Lupine
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Posted: Wed May 28th, 2008 02:41 am |
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leftcoast wrote: I googled Pimsleur and apparently they sell starter sets for $19.95 -- see:
http://www.pimsleurapproach.com/ .... so it might not be so expensive to try it out. The starter sets have about 4 hours of instruction (plus a money back guarantee)
THat's a good point, though if you decide to go ahead you need to purchase the full unit 1 and they don't give credit for the starter set. As a test to see whether you like their approach, though, it is hard to beat.
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leftcoast
Member
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Posted: Wed May 28th, 2008 03:20 am |
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Well I would definitely favor testing the waters on any sort of language instruction based on use of CDs or software-- even if my son did find it irksome that I insisted on that before paying for Rosetta Stone in Japanese. (A barrier he couldn't get past, despite the availability of free downloads for beginning lessons).
I didn't even think about the credit aspect. My own daughter has moved from talk about studying abroad with approve credit-granting programs for her college to studying abroad for the sake of gaining fluency in non-approved programs, as she thinks that with her AP credit she can afford to lose a semester's credits. For her, I think this opens up some greater opportunities -- her college will only approve foreign-language study abroad if the student has 2 years + of study in the particular language, and I think my d. now wants to expand her horizons beyond Russian. In other words, she is thinking in terms of how to use study abroad to gain fluency in language #3, when only her basis in #1 and #2 will qualify for programs where she can get college credit. She's in Geneva right now, so I have the sense that she really wants to pick up some proficiency in French, but doesn't have the desire or patience to spend a lot of time "studying" it as opposed to jumping right in and speaking it.
Last edited on Wed May 28th, 2008 03:22 am by leftcoast
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