PicklesTravel

Me with my Spanish host sisters (in AFS gear).

I want to preface this post by saying that I have lived abroad in many different settings; high school, college, and professional levels. This post is only about study abroad programs for high school students; focusing on year-long programs. I personally find a year’s time to be the best possible option, as it allows for the ups and downs of life and the difficulties of a cultural experience, while giving you time to grow relationships that will last you for life.

There are three programs with which I am most familiar, either because I or family members have been involved in the program on one level or another. They are; AFS Intercultural, Rotary Exchange, and ASPECT foundation. As a result I may be able to offer more information about these programs than others; and I also may have preconceived notions that may not be totally accurate so I encourage you to please chime in and give your thoughts and experiences!

1. AFS Intercultural Programs
AFS exchanges students from 50 different countries and place you with a host family. The host family is responsible for taking care of you. Each family environment is different so this is a good way to experience the culture through one specific environment.

2. Rotary Youth Exchange
Because Rotary Youth Exchange is all done through Rotary International there is a ready-made support system in being a part of that group/club. The biggest difference with the Rotary Youth Exchange program is that you will change families during your stay. This gives you an opportunity to see the culture through many different “lenses”, in the form of families, but it also means packing up and moving semi-frequently (appx. every 3 months). Numerous Rotary Clubs have scholarships set up that could help with the expense of airfare.

3. ASPECT FOUNDATION
This program is a great program for students outside of the USA that want an opportunity to study in the US. It’s a great program for those hoping to study in a high school setting within the US.

4. AYUSA Study Abroad
AYUSA has been around for 30 years and goes to a select number of countries, including China, Japan and several Spanish speaking countries and many more.

Cost is a big consideration- I didn’t want to say one was a more cost effective option than another, as each country’s cost is completely different. All of the websites have very good break-downs of costs associated with specific country travel.

There are so many different programs and choices. This is a great website for finding even more of the study abroad companies that are out there.

What are your experiences and thoughts?

Before you decide on a study abroad program and location there are many questions you should be asking yourself.

Do you want to learn a language?
This is perhaps the most important question, as it will affect your every day life for the entire year. I think immersion is the best possible way to learn a language, but it’s also very difficult. For a year you are surrounded by no one that speaks your language. You will learn, to survive you have to. The feeling of euphoria that occurs when you do realize that you have learned the language, when you start dreaming in that language- it’s all worth it, but you need to decide for yourself- Is it for you?

Do you want to move around? Live with different families? Or settle down with one?
There are programs out there that allow you to live with multiple families throughout your stay- Rotary Exchange is one of them. Other programs place you with one family and you stay with them until the end of your trip. I know people that have been on both sides of the spectrum on this one, and both have walked away having unbelievable connections to their host families.
For me it would have been hard to move to another family. It takes me a long time to grow to a level of confidence with someone, but you may be different- Listen to your gut instinct on this one! It’s usually right.

Do you need to pass your classes to graduate on time?
Talk to your high school advisor to see what their expectations are. Maybe they will count classes that you take, even if you don’t pass them. A lot of schools consider the experience of living abroad to be a much better life-education than staying home and may be willing to cut you some slack. This is a bit more difficult to do with different programs like No Child Left Behind and other academic standards, as required by your state/school district. It is very important to start talking to your advisor about this as soon as possible so that it doesn’t affect you when you return.

What classes will you take?
A lot of countries outside of the USA have program tracks (bachillerato in Spanish) that get you started for a career well before you leave high school. At my school there was a Science “track” and a Humanities “track”. Both would have been good options, though I was definitely lost in my Physics and Calculus classes. It’s a good idea to know what you need to take to graduate and then to keep in mind your language proficiency, if it’s going to be in a language other than your own.

Will there be a good support system?
You don’t realize until you’re there how important a support system can be. Will there be someone that you can talk to, in your native language, about problems you may have? Is it someone you can trust with you feelings? Maybe a host-sibling that is your age can take you under their wing and be your support? Sometimes even having another foreign student near-by is all you need, but it’s a good question to ask.

My program did provide someone that was supposed to be my support system, but he was useless and I always ended up feeling worse after talking to him, rather than better. So instead my host sisters became my support system, and they were exactly what I needed!

What other important questions have I missed? What do you need to know?

Chile, 2003

This blog started too late to discuss my study abroad experiences as they happened, so I have decided to do a short series about study abroad. Some things have changed significantly since I was abroad (internet is now available in every home) and others have barely changed (completos are still completos and paella is still paella!).

I traveled abroad with an idea of what I thought I was going to experience, and came home with a completely different experience. I can only talk about my experiences as an exchange student and can’t guarantee how others would react. The hope of this series is to give you an idea of what it’s like to travel to distant lands, at length, as a student, even when you don’t know the language. I write based on my experiences to:

Linares, Jaen, Spain, from 1999-2000, as a high school student.

Valparaiso, Chile, in 2003, as a college undergrad.

I also want to give you resources to learn more and insights into what to look for in all the different angles of study abroad. The focus will be on staying abroad for a year, rather than the short terms options. Shorter terms options are also readily available and may be right for you, depending on your life situation.

High School Students Abroad
1. My AFS-Intercultural Exchange: Spain 1999-2000.
2. Questions to ask about your High School Study Abroad Program?
3. High School Study Abroad Programs.

University Students Abroad
1. My COPA Exchange: Chile 2003.
2. What is your Study Abroad Goal?
3. What steps to take to make your trip a reality and still graduate on time.

Yong and I digging into the King Crab

I love food, but I am now officially obsessed with Korean food. It’s filling and light, lots of fresh vegetables and rices. I should preface this post by saying that, by far, my favorite food in S. Korea was all the different types of kimchi available at every meal (In my mind kimchi is Korean for pickle). I like kimchi so much that it gets it own post, and therefore will not be featured in this one- I just don’t want you to be disappointed.

Ready-to-eat HUGE King Crabs

Enormous King Crabs are widely available around of the coast of South Korea. You walk up to any street vendor selling seafood, pick out the crabs, weigh them and have them brought to your table, fully prepared. I ate these two giants in Kampo, with just the help of two other people! I was too full afterwards, but it was so worth it! The restaurants in Korea always have to have little side plates (think sides of kimchi) to accompany the meal, and this one was no different. Instead of kimchis though, it was different types of seafoods and sweet potatoes.

Samgyetang- Rice-Stuffed Chicken soup

Samgyetang is a chicken that has been stuffed with ginseng and rice in a lite chicken broth. It was very tasty, though I found the flavor to be a bit lacking (perhaps my American tongue just needed some salt).

Raw Bulgogi for us to cook in Busan, South Korea

It’s hard to find restaurants dedicated to Bulgogi in S. Korea, but we found a great one on the coast, in Busan. In Korea the barbecue restaurants bring you the meat raw and you cook it at your table. I think this is a fantastic idea, then the meat never gets cold!

Kalbi Sal - "Korean Barbecue"

At the Kalbi Sal barbecue places you usually cook your meat and then eat it as a lettuce wrap (or however you like).

Jjim Dak

Jjim Dak is a spicy chicken dish. It has potatoes, green onions and noodles and all the red peppers give it its bite. It isn’t as runny as a stew, but I would definitely put it into that category

Korean Chicken Porridge

This rice dish is great for a cold day. It has a smooth flavor and would definitely be my meal choice when I was feeling under the weather!

The amazing Mr. President burger at Gilbert's Burgers

While there are fast food restaurants on every corner, I would not say that American food is a Korean’s first choice. Italian food would be more their preference. I include this hamburger simply because it was amazing and is from one of my sister’s favorite restaurants. She works near by and has gotten to know the owners and chef very well. I would have to say, I think it’s one of the best hamburgers I’ve ever eaten!

Have I missed your favorite Korean dishes? What are they?

Four short days in Beijing is not nearly enough time to do the city justice, but here are a few of the highlights.

Tiananmen Square

People-Watching the "People Watchers" on Tiananmen Square

Keeping Guard at Tiananmen Square

Summer Palace

View of the Grounds at the Summer Palace

Mutianyu Great Wall of China

On the Great Wall of Mutianyu

Temple of Heaven

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

A vendor waits for his next sale at the Great Wall of Mutianyu

The Great Wall of Mutianyu is gorgeous and amazing and has been photographed extensively. Putting the focus on the tourist vendors- the more colorful, less seen side of the famous sight made the trip all the more enjoyable!

Dried Fruits of all kinds being offered as samples to make the sale

Dried Fruits of all shapes, sizes and colors

Tapping out images that will last a lifetime of the Great Wall at Mutianyu

Lanterns hung for Budda's Birthday

The Bongeunsa Temple, just north of the COEX Mall in downtown Seoul, has a lot to offer- especially when it comes to color! They were getting everything ready in preparation for Budda’s Birthday, which was on May 10.

White Lanterns in front of Mourning Temple

Wall of Budda for Bongeunsa Temple

Celebration Decorations for Budda's Birthday

All smiles for our reunion

I met Natsumi 13 years ago when she was a foreign exchange student from Japan, at my high school in Minnesota. She was fun, energetic and ready to take on the world and live, live, live.

This woman had a major impact on my life- as it was, in large part, due to my friendship with her that I decided to take the leap and do a year abroad in Spain, with AFS Intercultural Programs.

We met up in the middle of Seoul – I hadn’t seen her in 12 years – and yet, it felt as if we’d never stopped hanging out. It was amazing, and I am so glad she met me in Korea.

I had a great customer service experience today. Since traveling can be so incredibly stressful, I feel that I should point out the bright points. We flew to China today and were supposed to have a layover en route to Beijing. When we arrived at the airport in Seoul, the ticket counter informed us that our first flight had been delayed; by over an hour! I was already freaking out a bit (ok, a lot) because our original layover was only going to be an hour and a half… In my experience that is barely long enough to catch another flight, much less go through customs. Needless to say, an hour delay wasn’t going to work for us.

Before I could even utter a word of complaint, or ask to have our flights changed, the amazing lady at the counter informed us that she was aware of our situation. She called another agent over and together they got us put on on a direct flight for Beijing! Did I mention that they did all of this before we even asked for it?

Here is what they (China Southern Airlines/Korean Air) did right:

• They were aware of the problem before we were.
• They came up with a great solution to the problem and were ready to present us with it.

I personally think that our USA airlines could learn a lesson (or 2) from this!