A Parent's Perspective

Hi, I'm a study abroad participant's father. Our daughter just returned from a year in Madrid. It was not an easy year for her. It was challenging, often overwhelming, but it transformed her into a competent, resourceful young woman with a worldly perspective.
We visited her in March, and she was so proud to show us her competence, her mastery of the Metro system and regional trains, her command of Spanish, and her apartment mates from France, Mexico, Australia, The Netherlands, England and Peru. She introduced us to Spanish friends and friends from California. She took us to favorite restaurants, coffee shops and bars. And she cried harder on the day we left in April, than she did on the day she left in August.

Let parents and students know that this program is not a vacation, it is a transforming experience that, like all things of value, must be worked for and earned. They are growth experiences, teaching students how to shower in cold water and drink warm milk. How to study in classrooms with no heat, negotiate with people who speak REAL Spanish (not the classroom kind), and who couldn't care less if you have a nice day. How alone you can feel that first week in a hot, cramped and dimly lit dorm room, with everyone you love across the ocean and you feel like throwing up any second because of that awful mystery meat sandwich at lunch.

To search for an apartment, negotiate rent, study in a new system, stay healthy, smile and dig in when the waiter puts a bowl of tripe in front of you; to be lost and frustrated, then to find yourself and be triumphant. Those things are hard enough for a young person moving to a new city in the US. But to have to adapt to a foreign city would be much tougher. As time passed there were triumphs and competencies that no one will ever be able to take from her, or any student who completes the term.

How to make sense of things when you watch planes fly into buildings at home, and your roommate tells you that she feels sorry about what happened but the world knows that America deserved it. How to find your way home from another town, when the busses have stopped running, and you can't afford a train and there's no ATM machine in town, and you don't speak Italian and they don't speak English or Spanish and it's siesta so the bank is closed, so you rely on your creativity and sign language and pantomime and the kindness of strangers to get you home.

And you call your parents and tell them what a wonderful time you had in Rome with your new friends from school in Madrid. And then you tell them about your class in the Prado, and what religious history lies under the surface in Velasquez' masterpiece, Las Meninas. How the clubs stay open all night, and you've become addicted to cafe con leche, and you joined a health club where you've met some really nice Spanish people.

You wonder why we need to drive those enormous cars in the US, and you kind of like siesta, how it shows that in Europe they work to live while we in the States live to work. Why American guys dress so poorly. And you think maybe that French roommate was expressing the feelings of a lot of people in the world.

And you come home with five hundred pictures and a thousand stories of your big and little daily conquests. Best of all, you have a quiet pride at having DONE IT...something nobody but you did, and something nobody can ever take away from you. What a wonderful experience.

Absolutely priceless.
Father of Student Abroad Participant to Spain

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Today's competitive job market

During students' undergraduate careers, they have the unique opportunity to explore the world through UW-Madison International Academic Programs (IAP). IAP offers opportunities to study in more than 100 different programs and in a variety of languages, including numerous options in English. The University of Wisconsin-Madison campus is not limited only to Madison; rather it extends across borders and around the globe.

In today's global economy, study abroad can be a defining element to every student's undergraduate degree. Many companies increasingly desire leaders with the ability to live successfully in a variety of countries and work with people of various cultural backgrounds. Study abroad can provide the structure for students to acquire these skills and give them an edge over the competition. The distinction of having studied in a foreign country for a session, semester, or year can be invaluable to your student's future career in today's competitive job market.

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No need to know a foreign language to study abroad

While some programs have a foreign language requirement, there are several opportunities for English-speaking study abroad experiences. China, Kenya, and the Czech Republic are just a few examples of such programs. In some locations, students may study the native language at a beginner level and have the perfect chance to practice their new skills outside the classroom. Whatever language level your student has achieved, where better could he or she practice the proper usage and pronunciation than surrounded by native speakers? The ability to speak a foreign language remains a vital talent in any field or career.

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Independence

During the students' time overseas, they will undoubtedly encounter unexpected situations that will allow them to develop self-sufficiency and independence. The more times participants successfully navigate such situations, the more confident they will become in their ability to fend for themselves. Opportunities to take weekend trips to different cities, traveling before or after the program, and even daily life will teach valuable lessons. By the end of the program, most families notice a definite change in how independent and responsible their student is becoming.

It is also important for students to learn what it means to be a member of their native culture. They may find themselves challenging long-held beliefs. They will discover many surprising differences and similarities between their native culture and that of the program site. Students should be prepared to encounter criticism of American foreign policy and consider what their response will be.

We hope you are proud of your students' choices to study abroad during their undergraduate careers. It will be a time of challenge, growth and adventure that they will remember for a lifetime.

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