According to former alumni and teachers, study abroad experiences have the potential to help you see life from a different standpoint because every culture is different.

“When I got to college, I met people with all kinds of backgrounds and took classes about international issues; I started feeling like I needed to spend some time in another country to get more perspective – some non-American perspectives,” MHS alum Bethany Farnsworth said. “My assumption growing up was that the American way of doing things was the normal way, and I wanted to challenge that idea and see how other cultures did things day to day.”

When studying abroad you can learn a lot about the culture and the people in that area which may seem very surprising. Through these experiences the way of life you live may change drastically or it may barely change depending on how you adjust to the environment.

“I was a total mess for the first couple of days!” Farnsworth said. “Since I wasn’t meeting up with anyone, like an adviser or a group of students, and I’d had to arrange everything, I was totally on my own and totally overwhelmed. But I was surprised how easy it was to fall into a routine and how quickly I loved the city, Den Haag or The Hague. I figured out the bus and metro systems, and once I started my internship, I met interns from all over the world. We weren’t constantly busy, so we had a lot of time to talk and learn about each other’s cultures.”

Studying abroad may be very costly or it could cost as much it would cost you to stay on campus. Each program depends on where you go, for how long, and if you qualify for loans, grants, or scholarships.

“Of course, every family will have to assess the financial pros and cons on their own,” MHS alum Sarah Bennett said. “My program cost about the same as half a semester, which makes sense if you think about time. At SMU, some scholarships were applicable to study abroad programs. That may not be the case at every campus, but it’s worth looking into as a young or prospective student. Basically, if studying abroad is important to you (and I think the cultural and intellectual benefit is immeasurable), it’s worth taking a look at the numbers and seeing how you might be able to work it out.”

Although going off to new lands and being in a completely different environment may seem a bit overwhelming, studying abroad may just be the thing that turns your life around.

“Everyone should study abroad at one point in their life!” Spanish teacher Mrs.Brenner said. “Go with the open mindset of soaking in a new culture and experience how they live. Don’t try to force it to be like how you are used to. Be open to trying and doing new things.”

For more information on studying abroad check out these websites:

www.ef.edu/StudyAbroad

www.aifsabroad.com/

www.ciee.org/study-abroad/