Expanding your horizons

Black Enterprise, June, 1996 by Keisha Anderson

TRAVELING IN A CRAMPED MINIVAN without air conditioning, 10 students and I made our way under an unrelenting African sun to the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe. Suddenly, we heard a strange noise and our van stopped in the middle of a treeless country road. With no pay phones, AAA or taxi for miles around, we unloaded our bags and began to walk, hoping the next chicken bus that whizzed by would stop for this group of weary travelers.

That day, I truly learned the value of patience, determination and flexibility. I could have learned these things only by spending the semester in a foreign country where I was forced to become independent--and find ways to communicate with others who didn't always speak my language.

Studying abroad is no longer a privilege reserved for the wealthy elite. It's an invaluable experience that transforms students mentally and emotionally, preparing them to become driving forces in the growing global economy.

"The students we send abroad aren't always a polished, finished product," says Paul Brown, study abroad advisor for Clark Atlanta University. "They are usually students who have the ability but lack the confidence. Once they arrive in the country, we see a transformation. They begin seeing themselves as world citizens and stop seeing America as the beginning and the end of everything," he explains.

For Tiffany Brookins, a junior majoring in modern languages at Converse College in South Carolina, spending a semester at Khon Kaen University in northeast Thailand was a life-changing experience. "I never thought I'd be able to handle some of the things I did," says Brookins, who showered in cold water every day and washed her clothes by hand. "It made me more aware of how lucky I am and not to take things for granted," she adds.

"I didn't think it would change my way of thinking, but it did," says Asali Solomon, a '95 graduate of Barnard College in New York, who spent the spring semester of her junior year in the Dominican Republic. The experience, she says, opened her eyes to the politics of developing nations and how slavery affected the way people of African descent view one another. Living with a local family, who spoke entirely in Spanish, also strengthened her command of the language. Solomon's study abroad program is just one of many such programs offered by universities and outside organizations that allow high school and college students to gain academic credit or work experience in the host country.

Classes may be taught within a U.S. academic framework or students may have to comply with the educational system of that country. Most programs place students directly in a foreign university for a semester or a year. Students either live with a family or on the campus of the host university.

Study abroad programs usually fall into one of three categories: study m a foreign institution with courses arranged by the sponsoring U.S. institution; a fully integrated program at a foreign university; or an "island" program, where the courses are arranged for the Americans and taught by faculty of the sponsoring U.S. school.

Several programs are sponsored by a consortia of U.S. colleges. The advantage of studying through a consortium is that they offer specialized programs that individual universities cannot provide. One such organization is the 30-year-old New York based Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), a nonprofit, nongovernmental education organization offering a wide range of pograms in over 34 countries, from Ghana to Singapore.

The American Field Service (AFS) is another nonprofit organization that has sponsored exchange programs for high school students for almost 50 years. "The students are earnest about really wanting to go and learn about another culture," says Alix Florio, communications associate in the New York office.

BRIDGING FOREIGN BARRIERS

Still, there is a major underrepresentation of minorities in these programs. "More and more students are in need of international exposure and experience," says John Meyers, director of field services for the Council. Although Europe has always been a popular destination, says Meyers, increasing numbers of students are going to Southeast Asia, which is expected to become a major player in the international market. To compete successfully in that market requires knowledge of other cultures and the ability to communicate in more than one language. In most other countries, students are able to speak English in addition to their native language.

Unfortunately, students who have traditionally studied abroad represent a narrow margin of the total population. Usually, they are young, white women from professional families, who are majoring in the humanities or social sciences. A 1994-95 survey conducted by the Institute of International Education showed that 84% of the over 76,000 American students who studied abroad last year were white. Latinos and Asian Americans constituted about 5%, and African Americans and Native Americans were a mere 2.8% and 0.3%, respectively. Additionally, many universities say the number of African Americans studying abroad annually is too minuscule to even track.