Michaela Tolpin | Study abroad in the Poconos?

I am not ashamed to say that, as a female at Penn, I fit quite neatly into several aspects of the "Penn girl" stereotype: I drink coffee from Bucks, eat salads from Gia, work out exclusively indoors and rely heavily on these luxuries to make it neatly and efficiently through the rush of my daily life.

After a while, however, efficiency is tiring and the carefully planned-out regimen is overdone. As a solution, roughly 650 Penn students study abroad every year for a change of pace, a "break from Penn" and a greater sense of perspective.

Generally, students rely on the excitement of European city life to fulfill this need. But an article published in last Wednesday's New York Times, entitled "Living the Wild Life at College," demonstrates that this need not be necessary.

At St. Lawrence University, a small liberal-arts college in Canton, N.Y., students have the option of spending a semester away from campus but within the borders of the country: They study and live in the great outdoors.

According to the article, students spend the 16 weeks of their "Adirondack Semester" in New York's Adirondack Park living in "yurts" (pole tents on wooden platforms), treating water for drinking, cooking their meals from scratch and swimming in Lake Massawepie. On the academic front, students attend classes taught by professors who commute to the site via canoe (after driving an hour) and hold their classes either outdoors or in a stove-heated yurt.

Maybe the Penn Abroad office could take a few pointers from St. Lawrence.

There are, however, complications. According to Geoffrey Gee, director of Penn Abroad, any abroad program would have to prove itself in terms of concrete academic worth.

"The objective [of an abroad program] is really tied to how you would award credit for it," Gee said, explaining that students within the Penn community generally take a large range of classes each semester. Time spent on an outdoor program would have to provide a large variety of professors to cater to these disparate interests.

"To use kind of a pejorative term for it . I don't know that we're that touchy-feely," Gee added.

Maybe this is true; as a large urban research institution, Penn is not as closely tied to the environment as small liberal-arts colleges.

But just because Penn may not be able to justify a program that spends 16 weeks in the wilderness does not mean that we don't offer a wide range of opportunities for study abroad. Opportunities that, due to our inherent love of all things "city," may often be forgone.

Penn Abroad offers opportunities in all sorts of countries, from India to Botswana, and foreign-living situations that range from high-rise apartments to rural cottages.

I mean, I enjoy my creature comforts just as much as the next squeamish Penn student. Anything that has more legs than your average domestic pet is just too frightening to handle. But let's face it: We currently live in an urban environment, most of us grew up in either a suburban or urban environment, and we'll most likely spend the rest of our lives slaving away in similar surroundings.

If you really want to experience something different, get out of the city.

As evidenced by our scholastic atmosphere, it's frighteningly simple to get so caught up in the whirlwind of urban activity that you lose perspective. Going to Paris, Rome or London, furthermore, does not lend itself to having time for introspection.

And yet that seems to be what Penn students are looking for.

"I'd say that the vast majority (of students) are looking for city environments," Gee said.

At the risk of turning this into yet another globally aware column urging students to explore tiny little African countries, if you're really looking for a full and comprehensive break from "Penn life" and the insanity it entails, nothing compares to interacting directly with nature.

Miles away from bars, careers and self-instigated pressure, you can get the unique - yet necessary - opportunity to establish a sense of self and self-worth.

And hey, if you're interested in establishing a program that mimics St. Lawrence's "Adirondack Semester," according to Gee, it's not impossible.

"If the students petition for it, they could make it happen," he said.

In the spirit of adventure and new experiences, then petition we should.

Michaela Tolpin is a College sophomore from North Caldwell, N.J. Her e-mail address is tolpin@dailypennsylvanian.com. Tuesdays with Michaela appears on Tuesdays.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.