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Leave your Kids (Abroad) Alone

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two gifts quote

The year: 1986. The place: My childhood home in NY. The scene: The kitchen where a tan, old school phone with an unruly curly cord hangs on the wall. The language: Portuguese.

On one end of the phone was Sergio, my exchange student “brother” from São Paulo, Brasil. On the other end, what felt like a million miles away, were his parents.   Receiving a call from them was a BIG deal back then. With that phone call Sergio morphed from my English speaking, high school attending “brother” into a young boy from São Paulo who spoke a foreign language. To me, it felt like a completely different person was standing in the kitchen speaking loudly into the phone. The connections weren’t great back then and the call surely was expensive. Magically, with the click of the receiver, American Sergio returned to our family’s view.

Today, Sergio’s son, Gabriel, is living in my home as a year long high school exchange student. As I write this, he is at varsity (American) football practice. He is as adventurous as his brave dad was back in 1986, playing a sport he had only watched tirelessly on TV and the internet.

As a result, I have a bird’s eye view of what it means to be a parent and to miss your child when s/he is abroad. I see Gabi adapting to his new home city, processing and speaking in English 24/7, eager to engage in the world around him. And through Facebook chat and video, I hear his parents’ bellowing in pain from missing their beloved son. As a parent myself to a 20 month old, I can only begin to appreciate what another 14 years of time with my child will translate to when he eventually heads abroad for an extended period one day.

Yet, I cannot help but reflect back on that very vivid scene of Sergio talking with his parents on the phone. So what does any good interculturalist do upon reflection? She asks questions! I logged into Facebook and called Sergio in Brasil to ask him about how he is coping with his son’s absence AND to discuss his family’s plans to come to the US to spend time with us over the holidays. Yes, despite the title of this piece, Sergio and his family WILL come visit us this winter.

Sergio and family

My “brother” Sergio and son, Gabriel approximately 13 years ago. His wife (left) and I (right) hold their twin daughters. Photo taken in Brasil on New Year’s Eve (2002)?

I reflected with Sergio about the scenario above. He thought about it briefly and stated that it is much easier to talk to his son than it was for his parents, yet he has to restrain himself from doing so every day. He wants to talk about the latest Jason Bourne movie that he saw after he heard that Gabi and my husband, Tony, went to the premiere together last week – something they would have done together if Gabi were home in Brasil. He wanted to hear all about his first day of American football practice. He wants to know what he thinks of our city, our home, and what it is like to have a 20 month old brother after having sisters. It is natural to want to stay connected to your child, but Sergio knows how important it is that he allow him space during this tender period of being a new exchange student.   He remembers well how he immersed so seamlessly into our family and community in New York…and how he wants that joy for his own son. He and his wife have told me many times – no matter how much they miss him, they are more happy for him than anything.

I called another friend whose two daughters are both abroad – one is in Europe for 3 weeks while the other is on a study abroad program for a semester. I asked her about how she is adapting to the absence of her girls. Her response was that she misses them but has been very careful not to over communicate in that fragile first week or two, as that is when the bonding needs to happen. They don’t schedule times to talk and she has only “facetimed” once with her daughter in Europe.   She finds it strange that they have had the occasion to text their daughter in South America for random things (e.g. what is the Netflix password!) but otherwise they’re intentionally keeping some distance. When I asked if they planned to visit their elder daughter at the end of her study abroad program they said they’re thinking about it. When I pushed further, she indicated that they felt it would be okay to visit at the end of her semester program as it would give her a chance to show confidence in the language and experience without interrupting her studies. They would not visit if the program were shorter than a semester and wouldn’t do so in the middle of the program – and they may not even do so.

Sergio said the same – if Gabi were coming to the US for a few months only, he’d not plan to visit. But he is adamant that a visiting over the holidays for two weeks when his son will be here for an entire 12 months is acceptable because they won’t interrupt his studies, sports, or friends’ gatherings.

Why should a loving parent not visit a son or daughter on study abroad? After all, you miss each other, so what is the harm in doing so?

There are my two reasons NOT to visit your child on study abroad:

  • You may interrupt their flow: Study abroad requires immersion, space to make mistakes, learn a new language, gain confidence, engage in a new way of being in this world. When you visit your child while on a shorter term study abroad program, you unintentionally are stepping into his/her ability to find and maintain flow in their new surroundings. It is analogous to having to hit pause in your daily life to trot your parents to see everything that you’re experiencing in record time, doing none of it justice. It also doesn’t allow for your child to reflect deeply on the experiences, places and people that are just beginning to capture their attention. If you “leave them be” they will simply have more time to participate in their new culture and to let the new connections in their brains form solid pathways without having to revert back to what they know, their default way of being. So, don’t interrupt their flow, no matter how much they tell you that you HAVE to come to try the gelato in their favorite shop in Venice.
  • Your child will become more independent and learn more life skills: If you stay away from that airport you will likely observe, upon his/her return, that you gifted your child with a better chance of kicking independence into high gear. I see it with Gabi – he is speaking in English only, asking questions of others to gain information that helps him navigate his surroundings, engaging in new friendships even though it is scary to approach people you don’t know, washing his own laundry, unloading the dishwasher, making his own lunch, talking with his football coaches directly, and so much more. If you want an independent kid, don’t get on a plane and ask your child to hit pause on growth in their new home country in exchange for the ability to educate you and reinforce their learning for you. They will tell you ALL about it when they’re home while showing you their confidence and how empowered they have become. Additionally, if you’re willing to wait that long, you may find that you are truly the only person on the planet willing to sit through all 7,000 photos and hear all of the stories – an opportunity to bond with each other in a reflective learning space – and they’ll certainly appreciate that.

As difficult as it is to not get on the plane, staying home also offers YOU an opportunity for growth. What can you do with your time instead of checking in on your child? Here are 3 ideas:

  • Engage in new activities: Sergio started going to the gym each day, as he has found a lot more free time since his son is away for the year. Perhaps you can surprise your child by studying the language class of his/her study abroad country at home. With less face to face time with your beloved child, you have a chance to find your inner child! Sign up for an art class, join a book club, or pull out that list of places locally you have been meaning to visit. Take your child’s adventurous spirit and apply it at home.
  • Reconsider your adult relationship: Your child will eventually return home with a heightened maturity. Think about how you can relate to your “baby” as an adult – someone who has not only ventured away for college, but to an entirely new country and language. Make a list of items to discuss with him/her upon return such as “What has changed for you and how can we incorporate that into our home?” and “What do I need to be aware of to be supportive during your transition home?”
  • Talk to YOUR parents: Reflect on your own transitions in life and how your own relationship with your parents ebbed and flowed over the years. What stands out for you? When did you most need them to let you cut the apron strings? How did they deal with you taking the leap and trusting the net would appear? Journal some of these memories to rely on when your own child needs space and freedom from the family unit.

With that said, Sergio and I are planning for his family’s visit over the winter holidays. We decided that a year IS a really long time not to see your child and that we want to support a wonderful gathering, not only for his own family but for Sergio to visit his New York “hometown” for a reunion of host parents, friends, teachers, and families. I look forward to such a reflective experience, not only with him, but with his son too.

What are your thoughts about letting a son or daughter navigate the education abroad experience without a visit from a parent? I invite you to comment below!

 

missy gluckman

 

Missy Gluckmann is a traveler, educator, interculturalist, trainer, speaker and career coach specializing in international education and careers across cultures. Originally from New York, she has lived abroad three times, most recently in Cuenca, Ecuador, and is currently enjoying the gorgeous mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. She founded Melibee Global and Better Abroad as a way to inject creative tools into international education, with an emphasis on study abroad. You can connect with on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Challenging Stereotypes of “Dangerous” Locations Abroad

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Celebrants dancing during the color Holi Festival

Celebrants dancing during the color Holi Festival

I wanted to go to India when I was in college, but at the tender age of 19, I was too nervous to seriously consider applying for a study abroad program there. It seemed too far away and because I didn’t know enough about the country or culture, it felt overwhelming. I was concerned about where I’d live and how I’d be received by the locals, and wondered if I would be “safe.” I did get to India many years later, ironically traveling to several cities alone as a woman– and it was one of the most memorable cultural experiences of my life. I didn’t feel nervous or unsafe as a woman traveling solo. I did my homework while planning my sojourn, knowing where to go, how to dress, and how to ask for help if I needed it. Yet, according to the World Terrorist Index, India was ranked sixth in the world for terrorist activity in 2014.

We live in a world that highlights horrific acts of terror on the nightly news, conditioning us to imagine fear at every turn. Many parents and students from the United States don’t realize is that being involved in a terrorist incident is statistically highly unlikely, yet safety from such attacks becomes a topic of conversation more frequently than one can imagine in a study abroad advising session. Statistically, a US citizen has a similar (or lower) chance of being killed in a terrorist attack than the following occurrences:

  • Being killed by a piece of furniture in your home
  • Dying in a heat wave
  • Being struck and killed by lightening

As a seasoned traveler and advisor, the metamorphic transformation that I see happening through education abroad, particularly when students go off the beaten path (e.g. not Western Europe), demands discussion. How can we encourage more students to participate in all that these countries and cultures have to offer, despite an assumption about lack of safety? And how do we address the real or implied reasons to be fearful?

Here are some considerations for education travel abroad:

  • Recognize that safety cannot be guaranteed anywhere in the world.

The reality is that no one can guarantee safety at home or abroad. What we can do, with intention, is to learn about the local customs and norms to have a better understanding of what is happening around us in any new environs and choose to be aware, not paranoid. After all, educational travel abroad is about getting outside of our comfort zones.

For example, I’m sure that if I had studied abroad in Ecuador, I likely would have been told by the program administrators and faculty not to ride in the back of a pick-up truck because it would be unsafe. When I lived there for two months, I made a point to do just that. Why? Not because I like to live on the edge and thought it was terribly risky of me, but rather because it was what people there do – and the danger of doing so at that moment seemed negligible (and it was). It gave me a different perspective, I learned, and I got home in one piece.

  • Read reviews by students who have been there

I’m fascinated by how students perceive their time abroad, especially when they challenge themselves to go to places that are less traditional for educational travel. One of the best ways to do this is to read reviews at Studyabroad101.com to observe true accounts and perspectives of what is happening on the ground.

I really appreciated this student’s viewpoint of time spent in Lebanon, a country that despite offering study abroad opportunities in English, still reminds people of my generation (e.g. parents of college age students) of the 16 year Lebanese Civil War that ended over a decade ago:

“The same amount of danger that exists anywhere else in the world exists here. It’s just that the type of danger is different. I remember someone asking me if I was afraid to go to school in America because I might be shot. I asked if they feared getting on a bus for it might explode.”

This mirrors the feedback I received from a millennial who recently taught English in Lebanon for several years. She cherished her time there, didn’t feel unsafe – even taking a morning solo run in Beirut as part of her daily routine.

If you’re thinking about going abroad, check the Safety sections of each student’s program review (like this one in Cameroon). They will rate safety by the number of stars (1 – 5), typically commenting in the Safety section, and occasionally in the “A Look Back” section.

  • Know the facts about risk

My colleague, former FBI Agent Steve Moore, has told me more than once that road accidents are the biggest risks for US Americans travelers abroad. The Association for International Road Travel affirms that road crashes are the leading cause of death and injury for healthy Americans traveling abroad and young people, ages 15 – 24. Joining the Association for International Road Travel is an affordable place to start, as they offer data on road safety by country.

Excessive alcohol consumption is a growing problem for this same age group IN the United States, but it is compounded by laws abroad that often allow for young people to drink alcohol at a younger age and often at a higher percent of pure alcohol content. Fortunately, SAFETI offers an alcohol awareness video , available “by suggested donation”, to facilitate dialogue about this important topic. SAFETI also offers free handouts for administrators and students on the topic.

Any organization sending students abroad should plan to partner with campus or regional health care facilities to educate about the specific risks of alcohol consumption. Combined with a clear policy about expectations of behavior, this is key to minimizing the middle of the night panic phone calls about a program participant’s potential alcohol poisoning or worse.

  • Remember Culture!

Culture impacts behavior. Understanding the “whys” of other people’s behaviors is essential to feeling and staying safe. Morocco offers a terrific example of the need to consider culture when contemplating safety; this review of a program in Morocco is illuminating:

It takes some adjusting of behavior to feel safe in Rabat, mostly because of the harassment and unwanted attention. It is also not safe to go out at night in most areas, unless you plan on taking a taxi home. I had my cell phone stolen off a bus in one instance. However, in Morocco, this is par for the course and Rabat is actually a fairly safe city once I adapted to the standards of appropriate behavior.

To have a better understanding of this feedback, I asked a friend who lived in Morocco for several years and served there through Peace Corps for her cultural insights and personal story. This is what she had to say:

I won’t soon forget the first day when my parents came to visit me in Morocco. We were in a mid-sized city and I lost a small purse with my phone, identity card, money, social security card, and other important information. When I called my cell phone, a gentleman who found it – a taxi driver – picked us up, took us to his house where he left the purse for safekeeping, gave it back with everything still in it, and then drove us to the place where he had found it. While I can’t say this would happen in every city in Morocco, it was a wonderful introduction to the country for my parents. I am often asked about safety and can truthfully say it’s no less safe than anywhere else in the world. In particular, tourists or foreigners are looked out for by the police and other officials. Because tourism is such an important part of the Moroccan economy, the government is incredibly conscientious to be sure travelers have positive and safe experiences.

When considering culture, we are given clarifying information about behavioral norms that guides us in our interactions. As a result, we may feel more aware and therefore secure in new surroundings. For example, this young woman’s evaluation of her study abroad program in Morocco references “harassment and unwanted attention” – yet this is something that can be explained by culture. (You can read a complete cultural analysis about it here.) It is key to remember that culture lends information about behaviors of a group of people, but there are individuals within every culture, which reminds us that one incident of petty theft is not representative of an entire country.
Knowing cultural norms can prevent skewed perceptions of safety.   Ideally, program administrators and faculty are spending more time on cultural competency to empower travelers to be more aware, respectful, and self-assured in country. Looking for another resource on culture? Better Abroad is a great portal to understanding the impact of culture on the educational experience abroad.

  • Challenge stereotypes at every turn

One of the most profound conversations I had in India took place between me and an 8 year old boy in the holy city of Varansi. When he learned that I was from the United States, he asked me where my gun was. It was a reality check for me. I had been smacked in the face, verbally, with a stereotype of my country – that we are all gun toting beings, who value packing a pistol as a means to independence and safety. It took some time for me to convince this young boy that I didn’t even think I knew anyone from my country who owned a gun and that I had never even seen one with the exception of police and hunters. His perception came from American films – where violence is glorified. Our conversation encouraged me to challenge my assumptions about other places, and to reflect on those of my own country.

Before traveling, make a list of stereotypes about the country you’re heading to. Then task yourself to learn about your host country before departing – by reading, watching appropriate documentaries, doing informational interviews with people from that country in your home country, and reading the news online via another country’s online account. You’ll learn a lot about where stereotypes come from and how to combat them before jumping head first into the “fear” zone unnecessarily. Next, make a list of what attributes someone from another country might associate with Americans. This may include things like loud, gun toting, violent, sexually promiscuous, and wealthy. Do you agree with the list of stereotypes? Where do you think they come from and how do you think they impact interactions between people that can lead to unsafe situations?

I think back to my younger self, a girl who wanted to escape to India and see the Taj Mahal, and to better understand the diverse cuisine and spirituality. I wish I could tell her that fear is really a limiting word that we plant in our minds, and they it can take root and prevent a lot of beautiful experiences in life. I wish I had access to this student’s review of a program in Bangalore, which mirrors my adult experience in India (although I’d substitute the word “are quite wild” for “follow less rules”):

Beggars frequently come and ask for money. But beyond that, the violence level in Bangalore is far less than it is in US cities. Guns hardly exist among the public, and the people are not generally violent. The most unsafe thing in Bangalore is honestly crossing the road – because traffic patterns are quite wild.

With these handful of safety tips in mind, how will you reassess where is safe to experience education abroad? Where will you not only imagine going, but ACTUALLY going and writing about to your younger self in the future?

 

Missy Gluckmann

Melissa Gluckmann, contributor to the Studyabroad101 Blog and founder of Melibee GlobalMissy Gluckmann is the Founder of Melibee Global, which aims to elevate the discussion about education abroad, culture, diversity and the lifelong path to global citizenship by offering trailblazing tools, speakers and professional development for the global education and travel communities. Raised in New York, Missy has lived abroad three times and traveled to dozens of countries. Missy currently resides in North Carolina and experiences culture shock there on a daily basis! She can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

Resiliency as a Post Study Abroad Skill

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Two hands stretching spring.Stretched spring. Resistance and opposition metaphor.

Be resilient – Bounce back

With study abroad on the rise and pressure for recent graduates to kick off a dynamic career in their chosen field (and avoid a lengthy stay living at home and working as a barista!), there is much talk in the media and international education circles about what skills are derived from an education abroad experience. We often hear about skills gained in the areas of linguistic ability (of varying degrees), observation and agility. On a recent Cultural Career Cohort discussion with Jamie Gelbtuch, Founder of Cultural Mixology, the concept of “resiliency” came up as an important and valid skill for those who have a study abroad experience. I was intrigued.

According to The Resiliency Center, resiliency can be defined as “Able to recover quickly from misfortune, able to return to original form after being bent, compressed, or stretched out of shape. A human ability to recover quickly from disruptive change or misfortune without being overwhelmed or acting in dysfunctional or harmful ways.”

Jamie mentioned this center to explore resiliency and suggested that we take the quiz, so I did. I scored an 82 (“very resilient”) and upon reading the description, realized how much my experiences abroad have impacted how I approach life and work. Those moments of being uncomfortable, trying to learn new words in a completely new language, getting lost, having my breath taken away by new experiences – they all synthesized into skill building of the highest order.

Here is some of what the quiz informed me about my own resiliency. The interpretation of the score I received includes many characteristics, but these are the unique behaviors that I think most speak to qualities that can be directly related to the power of academic travel. I can easily imagine them being utilized in an interview setting. I took the liberty of providing an overarching heading for each point:

  • Diplomacy: Express feelings honestly. Experience can express anger, love, dislike, appreciation, grief–the entire range of human emotions honestly and openly. Can also choose to suppress their feelings when they believe it would be best to do so.
  • Curious and Risk Taking: Playful, childlike curiosity.Ask lots of questions, want to know how things work. Play with new developments. Enjoy themselves as children do. Have a good time almost anywhere. Wonder about things, experiment, make mistakes, get hurt, laugh. Ask: “What is different now? What if I did this? Who can answer my questions? What is funny about this?”
  • Lifelong Learner and the Ability to Reflect: Constantly learn from experience.Rapidly assimilate new or unexpected experiences and facilitate being changed by them. Ask “What is the lesson here? What early clues did I ignore? The next time that happens I will….”
  • Positive: Expects things to work out well.Deep optimism guided by internal values and standards. High tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty. Can work without a job description, is a good role model of professionalism. Has a synergistic effect, brings stability to crises and chaos. Ask “How can I interact with this so that things turn out well for all of us?”
  • Solution Oriented: Read others with empathy.See things through the perspectives of others, even antagonists. Win/win/win attitude in conflicts. Ask “What do others think and feel? What is it like to be them? How do they experience me? What is legitimate about what they feel, say, and do?”
  • Always Improving: Gets better and better every decade.Become increasingly life competent, resilient, durable, playful, and free. Spend less time surviving than others and survive major adversities better. Enjoy life more and more.

Imagine your students being able to speak to these skills in an interview instead of sharing the typical language around “deals well with ambiguity” or being “highly adaptable.” Taking the quiz and linking the skills back to specific experiences will help study abroad alumni understand how resilient they are and will certainly provide new language to differentiate themselves from the applicant pool.

Having students write in their personal journals about challenging times upon their return home is also a way to explore resiliency. For example, students charged with putting themselves in new and uncomfortable situations back at home (for example, taking a bus to a part of their town with its own subculture that they have not explored before) is one way to affordably open up the door of discomfort. Getting lost, observing, and engaging appropriately in an unfamiliar environment allow for practice of various resilient qualities. Writing as an intentional journal activity to consider more deep reflection on such an activity helps a student to hone in on articulating these fresh skills further. Journal prompts could include:

  • What did you observe?
  • What feelings surfaced for you as you embarked in this new community?
  • How did this experience remind you of your time abroad?
  • How did you succeed in this situation? How did you fail?
  • What could you have done differently, upon reflection?
  • What resilient qualities did you utilize in this new experience?
  • How did these qualities help you to engage and reflect?

Visual learners can be prompted to take a photo of their domestic sojourn as a jumping off point to illustrate and describe the experience and can use the same set of thoughtful journaling prompts.

For the career and education abroad advisors out there, what ideas do you have to gently adjust your re-entry programming to explore the concept of resiliency? Share your thoughts in the comments below so that we can share ideas!

 

Missy Gluckmann

Melissa Gluckmann, contributor to the Studyabroad101 Blog and founder of Melibee GlobalMissy Gluckmann is the Founder of Melibee Global, which aims to elevate the discussion about education abroad, culture, diversity and the lifelong path to global citizenship by offering trailblazing tools, speakers and professional development for the global education and travel communities. Raised in New York, Missy has lived abroad three times and traveled to dozens of countries. Missy currently resides in North Carolina and experiences culture shock there on a daily basis! She can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Your Future Career: Describing Leadership Qualities Gained from Education Abroad

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Businesswoman over flags background

Higher education has become increasingly about career paths and landing a flashy job. While I don’t always agree that this is the primary goal of education (I think it is to practice the life skill of learning and reflecting), we all do need a job. Hopefully, we want a career that is fulfilling and allows for us to be a catalyst of positive change in this world. Students who have been abroad for study, volunteer, internship, teaching or some other endeavor, have a much better understanding of the impact that can be made on the world and how important it is to reflect on the skills that were gained as a direct result of going abroad.

The challenge is how to step away from the ubiquitous buzzwords we hear every day when we talk about education abroad and to dig much deeper than that. Today, I’m going to offer up some tasty ideas about how to link your experiences abroad with something much powerful to a potential employer than what we often hear – “it was transformational.”

I recently came across “4 C’s of Leadership,” in describing the mission of Columbia College in South Carolina. These four Cs intrigued me because they are critical to leadership (and therefore a meaningful career), but they are also the skills that often emerge for those who have gone abroad – whether they be realized after days, months or even years of reflection on the overseas jaunt. However, the C words are typically not what a study abroad alumni communicates upon returning home.

Allow me to link these 4C career boosting leadership qualities to adjectives that are often shared by sojourners:

  • Courage: “Though often associated with fearlessness, courage is more of a willingness to take action despite fear.” Let’s face it, it takes guts to leave your country, campus and identity for a period of time to step out of your comfort zone. Going home during spring break and partying with friends and sleeping in is the easy path. Those who go abroad do exhibit courage, which they often illustrate by sharing how “life changing” it was when they return home. Like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, education abroad morphs us from being a tad fearful to courageous – and this indeed is life changing. Using the language of courage is much more specific and tangible in an interview than that overused and non-specific “life changing.”
  • Commitment: From the values standpoint, Columbia College uses the word commitment to “describe the process of exploring communities, examining their values and goals, and choosing from among them.” As a future leader, one needs to be able to open the mind and heart to exploration of ideas, values and goals. This requires patience and an understanding of how decisions ultimately impact not only constituents and clients, but the greater world. When returning from abroad, students are often encouraged to claim the magical badge of global citizenship. (Global citizenship is not possible after a short study abroad experience, but it can put you on the lifelong quest of global citizenship –which I explained in this piece in more detail.) For the purposes of connecting the dots today, I believe that the use of the word “commitment” is much more illustrative of what we too often claim to be global citizenship. Instead, we can express that we are committed to the process of exploration, examination of values and pursuit of goals that contribute to a greater world for everyone.” This too offers more clarity than dropping the lofty “I’m a global citizen now” claim to a prospective employer.
  • Confidence: I’ll veer away from Columbia College for a moment and focus on this simple definition instead: Confidence is a trust in your own abilities. Interestingly, increased self -confidence is a term that is often expressed by those coming home. That is pretty straight forward. However, sojourners also typically express their confidence by stating that they are now more “flexible.” Time abroad does create daily opportunity after opportunity to embrace flexibility. When you have finally mastered the tube in London, you will inevitably experience a tube strike. You have to figure some other mode of transportation out, even if it means that you have to pull out a map and walk a few miles to your flat or try a bus you never planned on stepping on. Those humbling experiences, when you are forced to be flexible and quickly realize that you CAN work through those little challenges, can and do build confidence. So when tempted to describe how flexible you are, instead also relate it to your level of confidence. This is something all employers are seeking, particularly in those who are “green” to the full time employment scene.
  • Competent: Let’s return the Columbia College mission. It describes competence as “the ability to identify and pursue specific opportunities for change, to plan and implement specific actions.” This series of skills are often described by returned students as “productivity” – or achieving results. For example, a student who has returned from an internship abroad may tell you that s/he was very productive abroad, but could instead be telling you (and those s/he is interviewing with) that time abroad enhanced his/her competency instead. Productive sounds like a skill for the worker bee, competency sounds like the skillset of a future leader. Competency also offers the ability to explain areas of competence such as enhanced cross-cultural skills, improved language skills, awareness of accounting practices used abroad in an internship, different methods of academic research, improved understanding of power dynamics and so much more.

What other over used terms are you hearing out there in the study abroad sphere? How else can you see linking these terms with employer friendly language?

 

 

About the Author:

Melissa Gluckmann, contributor to the Studyabroad101 Blog and founder of Melibee GlobalMissy Gluckmann is the Founder of Melibee Global, which aims to elevate the discussion about education abroad, culture, diversity and the lifelong path to global citizenship by offering trailblazing tools, speakers and professional development for the global education and travel communities. Raised in New York, Missy has lived abroad three times and traveled to dozens of countries. Missy currently resides in North Carolina and experiences culture shock there on a daily basis! She can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

Top 5 Reasons to Write an Education Abroad Review

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By Missy Gluckmann, Founder of Melibee Global (www.melibeeglobal.com)

Acting because you’re required to isn’t always exciting.  I really do ‘get’ that!

However, there is a reason that many schools and program require that education abroad participants complete an evaluation before releasing a transcript.  The good news is that there are some really positive reasons for sharing your feedback – beyond receiving your grades.

Here are my top five reasons why you should complete an education abroad review, even if you’re not ‘required’ to:

1)     Your truth can save a life

Education abroad is (or should primarily be) an academic experience.   However, the daily living realities of being abroad can feel as foreign as new skin.  Your insights into the nuances of your host city and/or country can really Female College studentimpact the lives of others who are following in your footsteps.  I’m not talking about things that seem quite important at the time of packing (‘Do I need an adapter for my hair straightener?’) but more along the variety of potentially life saving safety tips.  While it is not the norm, students have died abroad from a variety of incidents ranging from drinking too much alcohol and getting lost in frigid weather with less than adequate clothing  to drowning because of being pulled into a much stronger ocean current along the western coast of Central America.  Sharing tips with your own personal flair is what can truly save someone’s life and can be a great addition to safety tools that are available via the ClearCause Foundation.  While program advisers may write about the strength of a local ocean current in Costa Rica in pre-departure materials, reading about it from a peer who felt the overwhelming pull of the salt water and describes it as being ‘almost completely unmanageable, despite being a certified lifeguard ’ WILL resonate with future participants and their families.  Telling your peers that ‘the alcohol in the region’s pubs is 100% proof and that you really do only one third of the amount you’d drink at home before  feeling rather unaware of your surroundings’ may prevent others from putting themselves in a place of such needless risk.  Your voice carries when talking with other students.  Your voice can have that kind of power.  You can save a life by being candid in your review, while still being professional.

2)     Enhance your portfolio

Writing is a lifelong skill.  It is one that you will use in your academic  career and your job search.  Documenting your experience abroad by completing an evaluation provides a tremendous opportunity to beef up your ‘body of work’ that is available on the internet that potential employers and headhunters will peruse as they look for possible candidates for positions in their companies and organizations.  The time that you take to reflect and consider the seismic impact of an experience abroad  -and how you document that in a constructive, mature manner – may result in a new document for your ever expanding portfolio.  Potential employers are known to  ask for writing samples.  Your genuinely crafted review can serve as an sample that you’ll ultimately need in these scenarios.

3)     Reflection =  Growth

Going abroad changes you.  Coming home feels familiar but strange too – and students are typically so busy plugging back into “life” that they rarely sit down and really THINK about who they were before they departed for their host country and who they are now.  Intentionally taking time to ponder how you’ve changed and what you learned is necessary for measuring our growth.  Reflection is an art form, one that requires dedicated time and attention – and a structured set of questions to guide you.  The education abroad evaluation is an ideal way to start your reflective journey.  What was it about your program that you really appreciated? How did those well delivered (or not so well delivered) services impact you?  What would you want to change about the program and how would it impact future participants and your host community for the better?  Despite it being a ‘mandatory’ exercise in some cases, you may find that you are actually grateful for someone asking for your opinion and observing your own trajectory of growth and increased maturity.

4)     Role Reversal – You become the teacher

Part of the reason that many program administrators request or require evaluations is that they want to know what works well and what aspects of the program abroad need to be re-examined.  Despite putting a complex education abroad program together, they do not have the luxury of experiencing the program first hand as a student.  (Imagine how hard that is – crafting an exciting learning experience that involves seeing new cultures and not being able to go along with the group.  It is torture!) So, despite them preparing guidelines and tips for students prior to departure and reinforcing them in country, when you are abroad, you begin to transition to the role of ‘subject matter expert ‘ on certain aspects of the program.  You know what it is like to eat in a college cafeteria abroad every day (skip the meats but make the most of the potatoes!) or what cultural experiences are must see (the Guayasamin Museum in Quito, Ecuador is more than just a one day visit).  With this level of customized feedback in your evaluation, you’re actually TEACHING US!  What an exciting and empowering experience that is!

5)     Writing through journaling

For anyone who has kept a journal, you know the power of putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and documenting your feelings, perceptions and realities in the moment.  The process of journaling is essentially documenting your life’s story, one page at a time.  The beauty of having to complete an evaluation is that you have a searchable series of life’s important memories in one place, allowing you to return to the internet to recall where your mind and body were at a specific moment in time.  Being able to jar your memory to the highs (and even the lows) of your time abroad is a simply priceless opportunity, one that you may not be able to fully appreciate until months or years later. Taking the time to review your program online may also develop into an interest in taking up journaling or even blogging.  After all, an education abroad experience is one that you will to process for your entire life.  Continuing to write about the impact of it, even decades later, is a joyful and cathartic experience.

I hope that these five tips will give you reason to pause and seriously consider how you complete a mandatory evaluation or to encourage you to consider filling one out, even if it isn’t required.  The impact truly does extend well beyond your time abroad!

 

About the Author:

Melissa Gluckmann, contributor to the Studyabroad101 Blog and founder of Melibee GlobalMissy Gluckmann is the Founder of Melibee Global, which aims to elevate the discussion about education abroad, culture, diversity and the lifelong path to global citizenship by offering trailblazing tools, speakers and professional development for the global education and travel communities. Raised in New York, Missy has lived abroad three times and traveled to dozens of countries. Missy currently resides in North Carolina and experiences culture shock there on a daily basis! She can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.