Studying the Arts Through Experiences Abroad

My sister has been Irish dancing for 13 years. Although she went to college this year and could not dance with her dance school, they still asked her to come back and perform in the show yesterday. As I watched my sister gracefully dance on stage, I was reminded of our first night in Ireland when my sister had the opportunity to dance on stage at the Abbey Tavern.

About four years ago, my sister’s Irish dance school organized a trip to Ireland so the girls could see true Ireland so the girls could see true Irish culture and even cooler – dance there! (Lucky for me, the trip was designed for families to tag along!) My sister’s dance teacher was born in Ireland, and her parents still are very close to family and friends there. By having native tour guides, we were able to go off the beaten path and experience real local color.

My sister returned home from Ireland with a vibrant passion for Irish dance and Irish culture. It was so exciting for her to see dancers in Ireland perform in the Saint Patrick’s Day parade. It was even more thrilling for her to have gotten the chance to dance alongside a local Dublin band and Irish dancers from Ireland at the Abbey Tavern. Through observing and absorbing the true culture of Ireland, my sister has gained an increased appreciation of the talent, devotion and beauty of Irish dancers, which has led to improvements in her own dancing. While this may not have been traditional study abroad, the first-hand experiences she had taught her more about the arts of Ireland than reading from a textbook could since it ignited her passion for all things Irish.

Start Preparing for Study Abroad This Summer

So school has been out for a few weeks at this point, and I’m sure the last thing you want to think about is homework. The truth of the matter is, summer is the perfect time to do your study abroad homework. You aren’t stressed or busy with school, and you have all documents (social security card, passport) at your disposal. You can leisurely research destinations and fill out your paperwork. So if you are considering going abroad, consider this your summer homework as assigned by me.

1.       Research places to go. Check out the Links section to the right or your school’s study abroad website to get started.

2.       Once you have selected a place, check to see if the paperwork is available. For my study abroad trip to Spain with Lehigh University, there was a reduced cost incentive to submitting the application by a certain date.

3.       Make sure your passport has not expired. If you don’t have one yet, apply for one as the process can take some time.

4.       Toward the end of the summer, set up a meeting with your school’s study abroad office to verify that everything is on track.

Being Completely Open to Experiences Abroad

For three days I have been without a cell phone. I feel completely isolated from the world, which is silly because I go to work every day, drive two hours a day and interact with my family at home, I am just a normal product of this technological age – a girl ATTACHED to her cell phone. Aside from these three days, the only times I have been completely devoid of my cell phone in the past eight years were my trips to Ireland and France.

During my trips I am so busy seeing anything and everything, I don’t think about my cell phone much. Not having a U.S. cell phone abroad is a good thing for me. For one it eliminates embarrassing myself like this. It also forces me to be completely involved in what I am seeing, doing and learning – an experience I have to fully soak up because with all the places in the world, I may only be in that given place once. Probably most importantly it eliminates one more American thing about me.

I love being American, but unfortunately we have a bad reputation for thinking we are entitled abroad. I do love constantly connected to my microcosm of the universe, but by temporarily discarding my habits, I can be open to other ways of life. I make an effort to try things because you can’t know you don’t like it until you try it.

While the experiences abroad are exciting, what is sometimes more rewarding are the changes back home. Going abroad with a completely open mind allows for broadening of horizons and views. The subconscious shift from viewing everything abroad through an American lens to coming home and seeing things differently because of your experiences abroad is magical, beautiful.

Study abroad comes at the perfect time. College is when people really start to discover themselves. Studying abroad changed me and taught me so many things about myself in such a short time. Although I am in my early 20s with many more experiences ahead of me and still much to learn about myself, I know that my experiences abroad will continue to shape who I become.