To go abroad or not to go abroad?
Actually, that isn’t the question. The real question is: where and when.
Every abroad experience is different. You may go sky diving in New Zealand, take a safari in South Africa, or shop ‘til you drop in Paris and London. But before you can decide on the where, you have to decide on the when.
Does it make a difference if you choose to go abroad in the summer versus for a semester? Well, yes, actually, it does. This is coming from a girl who has experienced both a summer and a semester abroad.
First, consider a summer abroad: you spend four to six weeks in a foreign country, taking one, maybe two classes and sightseeing with a smallish group of students. The classes are really a formality: it isn’t that much work. Trust me, I even went on a Wake summer program (which are rumored to be the most difficult abroad programs). For the most part, you are out exploring the city of your choice, snapping pictures like all the other tourists and struggling to get a handle on how to ask for directions to the bathroom.
I spent four weeks in Vienna, Austria the summer after my freshman year. It was a last-minute decision, but one I will never regret. There were only a handful of students in the program, and we took one class: Introduction to Film, for which we would watch a movie, discuss it, write short papers each week, and have one final (super easy) test at the end of the program. For the most part, it was just vacation. I got to see every inch of Vienna and even had the chance to visit Salzburg (aka where The Sound of Music was filmed), Prague, and Munich. The only downside—I had to go home too soon.
Want to get even more immersed in a foreign culture? Opt for a semester abroad. Three to four months of living, taking classes, and/or working in London, Paris, Cape Town, or Copenhagen (among others). By the time you leave, you will feel like a local. You have more time to meet people, make friends, travel around, and experience everything that abroad has to offer.
Paris was my semester location of choice. Three and a half months living in the 5th arrondissement with a host family, taking classes in the Montparnasse neighborhood and spending way too much time people-watching in Parisian cafés. I felt like a Parisian by the time I left. I now have three places to call home: Roanoke, Winston-Salem, and Paris. The downside: homesickness is inevitable, and you can’t just drive home for the weekend. And, of course, it is expensive. But so worth it.
Being away for a semester is also more academically challenging. But don’t get me wrong: it’s nothing like Work Forest. Plus you can do your “homework” in a cute streetside café, a picturesque park, or on the steps of some world-famous museum. Makes school work a lot less miserable.
So which is best for you? If you want more of a vacation and less school work, summer is probably the way to go. If you want more of a cultural immersion, if you want to feel like a local, if you want to know what it’s like to live in a foreign culture, a semester is for you.
OR . . .
If you’re fortunate enough to be able to do both, DO IT! You can test the waters over the summer and then choose a new place for a semester! I mean, who would turn down the opportunity to travel abroad twice? I’ve already got a serious case of abroad-fever. You will too. I mean, come on, you’re only in college once. Live it up!
*Photography by Sam Hoback and Kelly Russo