All about studying abroad

This post is dedicated to a topic near and dear to my heart....studying abroad!  Personally, I have studied abroad a number of times.  For my undergraduate degree, I spent my junior year in Sevilla, Spain.  For my graduate degree, I spent three summers in Querétaro, Mexico.  With my husband's doctoral program, I spent two weeks in Rome, Italy (for this one he did the studying).  In addition to these formal experiences, I also had the chance to live in Paris for about six weeks one summer with a French friend.

What can I say about studying abroad other than it is 100% AMAZING!  These trips honestly rate up there with marrying my husband and raising our daughters as the most formative experiences of my life.  Prior to going to Spain in college, I had only traveled in the US and with my family.  Living in Spain, staying with a Spanish family, attending class, traveling throughout Europe, seeing the lives that other people lead, having bad days, getting lost, being misunderstood, and being so far out of my comfort zone changed me in so many ways.  That experience (and all the subsequent trips) taught me to see life from someone else's perspective.  Studying abroad taught me to recognize and appreciate the privilege that I had growing up.  It taught me to see people and not stereotypes.  It taught me that being uncomfortable helps me to grow in ways I couldn't have imagined.  It taught me that there is so much out there that I have yet to experience.  

So what does this have to do with me as a teacher?  Every year I spend more and more time talking with my students about the glory that is studying abroad.  While I haven't formalized the goal (mostly because I'm not sure how to measure it!), I would like to increase the number of students that I encounter who go on to have some sort of study abroad experience.  As I tell them, I don't even care if they go to a Spanish-speaking country to learn Spanish (although I do like to highlight the advantages of doing so), but I do think that living and studying in somewhere other than their home culture is SO important that any destination for any length of time is invaluable.

As I was thinking about this post, I surveyed my Facebook friends to see who had gone abroad, where they had gone, and why they had chosen to do so.

Here are some of the places to which they traveled:

Costa Rica, Spain , Mexico, Ireland, Australia, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Germany, and Indiana 

Here's why they decided to study abroad:

to pursue a Spanish minor, to really learn Spanish, to travel around Europe, to learn Italian, to take a course in tropical ecology and evolution (although she then changed her major to Spanish), improve speaking skills, take in a new culture, travel, get graduate credits, experience teaching from a different perspective, try new things, challenge oneself, meet cute European girls, and to become a better Spanish teacher

Now to the challenge...what can I do to help students see the value in studying abroad?  Stayed tuned in!

Go see Pilsen!

I love Pilsen.  It's such a cool neighborhood in our super cool city of Chicago.  In years past, we've had the opportunity to take students to Pilsen this time of year for a day of Mexican American culture touring the neighborhood, visiting the local businesses, EATING, and also for a tour of the National Museum of Mexican Art.  Everything about these field trips has been amazing and such an awesome learning experience for our students.  The museum in particular is a highlight.  I have been there at least five times and every single visit I'm excited by the exhibits they have.  While I've been to there at different times of the year, the trip in October/November is definitely my favorite!  Every year the museum has a big exhibition for El día de los muertos (The Day of the Dead).  While I haven't had a chance to see this year's exhibit, I know that it's worth a visit.  According to their website, this year's Day of the Dead exhibit is called Rito y Recuerdo: Day of the Dead.  It looks pretty awesome and I need to get a visit planned ASAP!  One of my favorite experiences is purchasing a sugar skull made  and personalized by the Mondragón family.

I think that going to visit this neighborhood gives someone the chance to not only know more about our spectacular city, but also to learn more about Mexican American culture in a very friendly, comfortable manner.  This kind of trip is especially educational for younger people to know more about the big world they live in and how so much of it is so close to us on a daily basis.