A Few Thoughts on Study Abroad
In class the other day, one of my professors asked me where I’ve been traveling. I told him that I went to Paris last weekend, and he chuckled saying, “That’s so American.”
What he was really asking me was where I was traveling in Sweden, since I am, in fact, studying abroad in Sweden. A part of me agrees with him that since I am studying in Sweden, maybe I should focus my travels on Sweden and try to deeply experience the place where I am living. That’s the point of study abroad, isn’t it? That’s what most of the other students studying abroad in Sweden do. But not the Americans. We go every which way across Europe every chance that we get. That’s what I’ve been doing and that’s what my friends have been doing. The thing is, for us, we don’t know when (or if) we’ll ever be in Europe again. Travel within Europe is cheap compared to traveling in the US, so of course we’re going to go everywhere we can. Who knows when I’ll ever get a chance to go to Paris again?
With the schedule I’ve set up for myself, I only have class once a week. I’m not interacting with Swedish students very much, I’m barely in the country, and my classes are stuffed with international students. The experience I’m getting is most definitely not that of a Swedish student. What little Swedish I did learn in that three week course I took a month ago is rapidly disappearing. If anything, I’ve used my French more than my Swedish, which is a rather hilarious development since I really only know survival phrases in French, like “do you speak English?”
When I’m traveling, I’m only spending a couple of days in each city, sometimes less. I’m barely scraping the surface of each place I’m going to, and there are so many places I want to go back to now that I’ve gotten a little taste of what it’s like there. I’m learning so much; much more that what I learn in classes. I’m living by the bare minimum, packing as few items as I need and living out of a small backpack for days. I’ve slept on airport floors and creaking triple decker beds, on buses, trains, planes. It’s miraculous where you can sleep if you’re tired enough.
What I’m saying is that yes, the experience I’m getting from my study abroad is a very American experience. I definitely should try to see Sweden more than I have, and maybe I will in the future. But I have no regrets about what I’ve been doing. A lot of students come back to the US saying that they’ve had a life-changing experience abroad. That they’re a new person now and they almost act like they’re above everyone else, because they are better traveled. I wouldn’t say that. I’m still the same person as when I started. I can say that I’ve learned a lot, and I think that travel is a great way to gain a better understanding of our fellow humans in different places. It definitely puts into perspective that we’re really not that different, no matter where we come from.
There will be more posts to come of the places I’ve been, the places I will go, and the experiences I’ve had. These are just a few thoughts now that I’m in the middle of this program. More to come soon.
