This Saturday: A Chance to Hear About Some Fellow Students' Research Adventures Abroad

The Office of Internation Studies and SIT (School for International Training) Study Abroad present: a conference on "The Joys, Challenges, and Uses of Student Research Abroad."

All day this Saturday, April 26, drop by Usdan to learn about the experiences of seven Wesleyan students (myself included) who lived and did research abroad. Come if you're interested in international or intercultural issues or the politics of study abroad programs, if you've been abroad and you miss it, or if you're thinking of going in the future. Each presenter will talk about the challenges, lessons, and rewards of hir study abroad experience and will discuss the research ze performed. And it will be way more interesting/exciting than I'm making it sound.

Schedule of Events
9:45 am Coffee and pastries
10:00 am Opening remarks
--Carolyn Sorkin, Director of International Studies, Wesleyan University
--Rebecca Hovey, Globally Engaged Scholar, SIT Study Abroad

10:15 am Panel I: Africa:
--Jessica Posner, SIT Kenya: Development, Health, and Society
“The Face Behind the Mask: A Play About Poverty”
--Johanna Richlin, SIT Ghana: Arts & Culture
“Invoking the Israelites: The Manifestations of Hebraic Identity in Ghana”
--Jettie Word, SIT Cameroon: Culture and Development
“From Buenos Aires to the Bamileke: Foreign Narrative and Gender Dynamics in Cameroon”
--Matt Podolin, SIT Kenya: Health, Development, and Society
“Developing Community-Sensitive Sexual Health Education: An Examination Through Kibera Youth”

11:45 am Panel II: East and West
--Alissa Greenberg, SIT Yunnan
“‘Once Upon a Time’ in the Valley: Storytelling and Ethnic Identity on the Nu River, China”
--Maura Scully, SIT Ireland: Peace and Conflict Studies
“Walls: Space, Violence and Group Identity in Ethnic Conflict”
--Lindsay Weber, SIT The Balkans: Gender, Transformation, and Civil Society
“poetic terrorism//this is your true desire” Autonomous Spaces, Organizing, and Squatting in Two Croatian Urban Environments”

1:00 pm Lunch
2:30 pm Roundtable: Wesleyan faculty and SIT Academic Directors discuss the joys, challenges and uses of student research abroad, and offer some suggestions on how to do it well
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What: A Research Abroad conference featuring student presentations based on time in the Balkans, Ireland, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroon, and China
When: Saturday, April 26, 9:45 AM- 4 PM
Where: Andersen Meeting Room (110), Usdan

Student-Run Study Abroad Resource: Wes Abroad

Say hello to Wes Abroad, a new blog (omg) dedicated to...well...studying abroad.

Wes Abroad is a forum for the students, alumni and faculty of Wesleyan University to share their photos, stories, travel plans, and general information while they're abroad. Send any photo and/or written caption from your Wesleyan e-mail address to WesAbroad@gmail.com and your entry will be posted on the blog as soon after. All photos and captions will be posted as they are received by Wes Abroad and all posts will be subject to public commentary.

Packing for a Semester Abroad

A few years ago I read a story in Vogue about a girl who moved in her freshman year at Yale with just one duffle bag of stuff. I learned then what true glamour was. Only "citizens of the world" could move somewhere and not need stuff from home to feel at home. I, on the other hand, came to Wesleyan with a whole car-load of stuff to compensate for my insecurities.

When it comes to travelling, though, I try to pack light. I always have my violin, but besides that I have never taken more than one 25-inch suitcase and a medium purse for a carry-on on any of my trips abroad, which have lasted up to 2.5 months. I hate having baggage, emotional or physical. In fact, I think the two are linked. Sure, luggage is a sign of worldliness, but too much luggage is a sign of neediness. So, in preparation for my semester abroad in Prague, I told myself that I was going to be glamorous from beginning to end, beginning with duffle-bag girl as inspiration. Translated, that's four months (including a harsh winter), in one suitcase not to exceed 50lbs (and keep in mind I have lots of shoes and dress well). So far, so good. I'm about half-way through packing and my suitcase (I went for a slightly larger one this time, 28 inches) is about half-full.

I'm sure I'm not the only one going through this right now, though some of you probably allowed yourself two suitcases. I laid down some simple guidelines for packing light, below. Feel free to disagree/add/share whatever.

1. Skimp on toiletries. you can buy all of that stuff once you're there. There are only two exceptions to this rule: tampons and condoms. When it comes to those two, I like to stick with what I know: comfort and security take priority over all else.

2. always have room for a small battery-powered alarm clock (battery so you don't have to worry about different plugs/voltage).

3. No need to put on the wacky hipster layers. Bring the basics and the most versatile pieces in your wardrobe. Nothing fussy. Once you're there, observe the street fashion and adapt accordingly. I know I won't be spending four months in Prague dressed in Wesleyan-chic the whole time. I plan to be at least semi-Prague-chic by October. For inspiration, see The Sartorialist

4. OIS (office of international studies) tells you to pack everything then take half of it out. I don't like this strategy because it's risky (I tried it once and regretted not having the stuff I threw out), but they do have a point. People tend to throw in too many clothes. A fully-functioning wardrobe, no matter what size, is all about porportions. Say you pack five shirts and only one pair of pants: congrats, you packed light. However, it's a problem if the shirts don't look good with the pants. To combat this problem I pack slowly and carefully. I seriously consider every piece before putting it in, whether I need it, what I would wear with it, so on. Since I know exactly what I packed there is less of a chance of ending up with too many green shirts and nothing to match them with, or clothes I would never wear. 1 exception: never question bringing underwear. The more the merrier.

5. Shoes take up less space if they fit snugly. Position shoes not as pairs but separately, wherever they fit well.

6. There is always room for sentimental stuff. When I was eight it was a stuffed bear. This is a bad idea. stuffed animals are a waste of luggage space. Instead, opt for flat things like pictures. Bring a picture of your blankie. Don't bring your blankie. I will be carrying unpretentious acrylic paintings on cardboard painted by my best friend from home.

7. Cultivate a low-maintenance glamour. If you can, get a haircut that grows in well and does not require upkeep. Low-maintenance hair means not needing a hairdryer, curlers, hairspray, clips, special brushes, or whatever. A really put-together actress/musician friend of mine spent a year traveling without any hair products or tools and she looked great every day. It also helped that her travel wardrobe was stylishly simple and effective (see 3 and 5).

Stronger language! STRONGER!

My Neck, My Blog brings you the Emergency Language 101 sheet that was handed out at the Study Abroad Pre-Departure Information Session a few days ago. Uhhhhm.

Speaking of going abroad, have you read OIS's page on re-entry shock? It's startlingly depressing. "People won't understand your experience! They'll be annoyed at your stories! You'll miss the quality and freshness of fruits and vegetables!"

Tips for going abroad

Kids who are going abroad for the Spring semester have their forms due soon (Tomorrow? A few weeks? Fuck, I don't know!), so here's an aptly-timed news article about it. In summary: OMG TONS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS ARE HEADED OVERSEAS! Save money! Don't pack too much! Respect culture! Mandatory drivel. There are, however, some sorta interesting factoids: For instance, in the 2003-2004 academic year, the most popular destination was the United Kingdom, with roughly six times the number of travelling students than China. Also, a measly 3.4% of students that go abroad are in the health sciences, while 22.6% major in the social sciences. Yeaaah, I'm one of the pasty Neuroscience majors staying stateside.

Stay at Home Theory

Less students go abroad now for an entire year.

Most students who do go abroad are increasingly going during their spring semester, leaving a slight glut of students on campus during the fall.

Why? A couple of reasons, I guess. First would be they predict it would be difficult to get decent housing when they come back from their fall abroad and begin their spring semester. Second may be that they feel ill-prepared to write an application to study-abroad for the fall during their sophomore spring semester. A third possible reason may be the global sentiment towards Americans in general and American parents' sentiments towards allowing the fruit of their loins to go into foreign territory. A fourth possible reason is that more and more liberal arts students are seeking double majors after perhaps convincing themselves that their liberal arts education is potentially unmarketable after college and having two degrees gives them at least a slight more leverage in the applicant pool. Thus, they cannot fit going abroad with meeting their dual major requirements.

Ok, so I think there are a lot of reasons. I for one don't want to go abroad for a number of reasons I have mentioned and for some I haven't.

Bloo, blah, blee, so for whatever reason, there are less students going abroad this semester than have been going abroad in quite a while.

First consequence of this was the housing crunch that left a few dozen juniors living in the Nics and the Butts, bumping more sophomores into doubles and a number of freshmen in triples.

The second sign was add/drop, where students whose majors tend to only create small, 20-something person classes found themselves completely locked out of their major classes. The hardest hit, I'd imagine, are the sophomores trying to take their first topical courses.

What will the third sign be? Take your guesses.

More transfers? More going abroad next year? More university encouragement and incentives to go abroad? More willingness to let students live off-campus? University breaking down and hiring more professors in short-staffed majors?

What's going to happen next, oh short-sighted policy makers of Wesleyan?