More students turn to exotic locales for study abroad

Wharton junior Jen Woo admits that one of the reasons she became interested in studying abroad in Japan is that she considers herself a "sushi fanatic."

Yet after four months of living in the country, Woo said she feels like she walked away with more than just an increased knowledge of Japan's culinary tastes.

Woo is one of over 600 Penn students who study abroad each year, but she is one of only five students who chose to study abroad in Japan last spring.

"The driving force of study abroad is where we can find a good match to complement your degree ... a majority of Penn students will look for a comfort zone," said Director of Study Abroad Geoffrey Gee.

For the most part, this comfort zone exists in either English-speaking nations such as the United Kingdom or Australia, or in Europe, where culture is similar to the United States'.

The number of students who choose to study abroad in Asia, Latin American, Africa or the Middle East is less than 25 percent of the total amount of students.

However, the number of students studying abroad in less-traveled countries is slowly increasing.

Sixty-six students studied abroad in Asia last year, while 14 students studied in sub-Saharan Africa and another 14 studied in the Middle East and North Africa.

"Fourteen in both of those regions is better than it's ever been," Gee said, adding that some years as few as five students go to those areas.

Gee cites an increased awareness of available options as one of the reasons that the number of students studying abroad in less-traveled regions has been rising.

"More people are opening their eyes. ... People are aware that they are citizens of the world," Gee said.

Wharton and College junior John Blake spent last semester in Saint Louis, Senegal, where classes are taught in French.

"I said to myself, if I want to go to France, I don't need a Penn program to go, I can go by myself. [But] the Penn program provides a really great introduction to the culture," Blake said.

Blake attended classes with Senagalese students and also stayed with a host family for a month.

College senior Morgan Whitmire originally planned to study in Cairo, Egypt, for one semester but ended up staying her entire junior year.

"It took a big leap of faith ... but it turned out really well," Whitmire said. "It was definitely worth it."

However, students say that it is not always easy adjusting to a different culture.

"It's one thing to study a country's culture or history, but it's another thing to go there and experience it firsthand," said College senior Carley Williams, who studied abroad in Beijing all of last year. "It's a very different lifestyle."

Students named food, traffic, toilets and gender dynamics as some of the things that they had to get used to.

"They use hoses instead of toilet paper [in Egypt], so that was obviously very strange to Americans," Whitmire said.

"There was definitely a time I felt really powerless," Woo said. "I came with this 'Wharton-woman' image, and then you go to a country where most of the women are housewives. ... It's disappointing, but it gives me a lot more motivation to work harder."

Nevertheless, students said they felt that the experience broadened their horizons, and a few even said that they felt that they had changed as a person.

"It was really intellectually satisfying to get questions answered and to be able to explore a place that's really important but of which we've had no contact. ... I think it's changed my view on a lot of political issues," Whitmire said.

Blake said that his attitude toward the concept of time has changed.

"In the U.S., we're really focused on time. [In Senegal], they're really focused on people," Blake said. "I feel like we're really stressed about this grade and this class. ... I have definitely said goodbye to that mentality."

Instead, Blake said he is "willing to forgo two or three pages of reading if that means that [he] can talk to a friend and find out how they are doing."

As for the next few years, Gee expects "the number of students heading towards Asia, and to a lesser degree to Latin America, will increase slowly." However, he added, "As much as I regret, I have no indication that students will divert their attention to the African sub-continent."

Woo said she has no regrets about studying abroad in Japan, despite having some trouble assimilating at first.

"I think the harder it is [for you] to adjust, the bigger sense of accomplishment you feel after you leave," Woo said. "If you're not going to challenge yourself, I think it's a waste of time."

Going global - Most popular study abroad locations 2004-'05: Europe: 410 Australia/ New Zealand: 102 Asia: 66 Latin America: 52 Africa: 14 North Africa, Middle East: 14

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