Returnee « OSU Abroad

Ally Malone is studying Chemistry and is in the Honors College at Oregon State University. Currently an ambassador for the OSU Office of Global Opportunities, Ally is a travel enthusiast. In fall of 2014 she went on exchange to Lancaster University in Lancaster, United Kingdom. Read on to hear about hiking, exploring and learning abroad!

The Lake District in Northern England is known for its tremendous views, rigorous hiking and stormy weather. Luckily for me, Lancaster University is situated right on the outskirts of this National Park. Although I wouldn’t call myself an experienced hiker, I was determined that the best way to see the English countryside would be to join the Lancaster University Hiking Club.

The first trip to the Lake District proved quite challenging. We took a large coach down windy cobblestone streets to the small town of Langdale. There were three hikes to choose from with varying levels of difficulty. Being ambitious and a little clueless of the length of a kilometer, I excitedly chose the hardest hike and was soon on my way down the rolling, green hills to the trail head.

The first three kilometers were up make-shift granite stairs that climbed over 1500 feet to the top of the small mountain. The heavy morning fog clouded the entire view of the valley and made it seem like I was floating amongst the clouds. Despite my gasping for air and the persistent stich in my side, I found the strength to continue to put one foot in front of the other.

At the top, the fog had lifted with the defrosting of the morning and the view of the cascading valleys below was astonishing. It was here that it dawned on me just how outrageous it was that I came to England, utterly alone, and felt at ease and comfortable.

The journey of this hike stands as a symbol for my entire experience in England. It wasn’t always easy and I had to constantly work to survive in the new culture, but the ups and downs made the experience richer and more rewarding than I could have ever hoped for. If I had to take away just one thing from my time abroad, it would be to take chances on new experiences that challenge my knowledge and body and trust myself to succeed.

Ryan Lorenz is a travel enthusiast. After his travels to both England and Kenya, his journey lead him to being a Resident Director for IFSA-Butler in Spain. Currently living and working in Barcelona, Spain, Ryan loves to help students fall in love with this unique city.

What brought you to be a Resident Director?
Good fortune! I never planned to work in study abroad, although I was a study abroad student in London back in ’84. That experience opened my eyes to the wider world, and led to my Peace Corps stint in Kenya. From there, it was one small step to being a study abroad director. After 26 years of doing the same I cannot imagine a life different from this one!

What are some unique aspects of your city and country?
Spain is not a nation. It is many! Four distinct nations and languages of which the Spanish language is only one. One can say the same about Barcelona and Catalonia, which is not only Catalan, Spanish and European- but also Chinese, Russian, Pakistani…the whole world lives here! I have lived here for seven years now and still find it complex, interesting and wonderful.

What is one thing most of your students may not know about you?
I have fabulous stamp and comic collections.

What are some of your favorite aspects of being a Resident Director?
My own abroad experiences have transformed my life. I love watching others make the same journey. Feeling like I am part of that change really energizes me.

What are some of the challenges of your job?
Dealing with ignorance and inappropriate behavior. Fortunately this only applies to a few students! The rest are fabulous.

What have you seen as the biggest challenge for incoming students?
Adapting their homegrown expectations to a new cultural environment. That is normal, of course, but slows down their ability to fully comprehend their new and temporary home. I also think that some students have a very short attention span, which is a real handicap when trying to figure out what is going on around you when you understand few if any of the cultural cues.

What is your advice for students planning to attend your program, or to study abroad in your country?
Lower your expectations. Less is more. Better to dig deep than skim the surface…you experience less yet more profoundly.

What is one thing you think students shouldn’t forget to pack for life in your country?
The right attitudes! Flexibility, patience, and a sense of humor.

What do you think is the most important take-away for education abroad students?
No matter how much you think you know, you in fact know very little. Learning is constant and continuous.

To learn more about going abroad at OSU, check out this link!

When Réka Futász was a student, she embarked on her own study abroad journey to Brisbane, Australia. Inspired by her trip, she is now a Resident Director with Academic Programs International (API) in Budapest, Hungary. Now, she gets to help other students love studying abroad as much as she did!

What brought you to be a Resident Director?
I studied abroad in Brisbane, Australia and enjoyed it a lot. As a Resident Director I can help students get the most of their study abroad experience and provide a safe environment for them to experience a kind of lifestyle that is very different from what they are used to at home.

What are some unique aspects of your city and country?
Budapest is a city of about 2 million people with a very lively cultural life, so there is always something new to see. We are also very close to many popular destinations in Europe that are easily accessible by train or low-cost airlines. Vienna is a 2.5-hour train ride away and you can get to Berlin, Paris or Rome in under 2 hours by plane.

What is one thing most of your students may not know about you?
I am a certified scuba driver and got my license on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

What are some of your favorite aspects of being a Resident Director?
I love seeing students become more and more independent as the semester progresses and seeing them discover new things about themselves. It’s rewarding to see when students’ friends and family come to visit them and they are proud to show off their new home and all the places they have discovered in Budapest.

What are some of the challenges of your job?
Many students travel all over Europe during the weekend, so sometimes it can be difficult to get them to stay in Budapest. We can show them cultural events/venues they would not necessarily go to on their own, like the flea market or the nearby Buda hills, where you can go on wonderful hikes.

API Students on a trip to Transylvania, Romania. OSU student Natalie Suderman is on the far left!

What have you seen as the biggest challenge for incoming students?
The language barrier and getting used to the fact that they do not always understand what people are saying around them. Our students all take Hungarian at the university, so that helps a lot as the semester progresses. Also, the first few days of getting used to the public transportation system can be challenging for those who are not used to it back home, but once they get the hang of it, students love how they can get everywhere quickly using their unlimited public transportation passes. Also, our academic system is different from that in the United States: there is much more emphasis on independent study and fewer teacher-directed homework assignments, so that’s an adjustment for students.

What is your advice for students planning to attend your program, or to study abroad in your country?
Make sure you read up a little on European history and politics. Corvinus University has many international students from all over Europe, and politics in general is a common topic to talk about here, so it helps if you know some of the basics!

What is one thing you think students shouldn’t forget to pack for life in your country?
Waterproof and comfortable walking shoes – we walk everywhere and use public transportation. And warm clothing for the winter – it is cold November through February (we get snow most years), so a sweatshirt is not enough!

What do you think is the most important take-away for education abroad students?
Learning how to function as an independent adult, including being able to navigate foreign places confidently on their many trips around Europe, adjusting to living in a student apartment, being responsible for making/buying their own food and keeping the household together. Because Corvinus University has students from many nationalities, learning how to collaborate on group projects with students from various backgrounds can be challenging, but ultimately very rewarding.

To find out more about Réka’s program, check out this link!

Marie Sato was greatly affected by her time studying abroad in the United States. She loved it so much, she decided she wanted to help other students feel the same way about her country! Marie is a Resident Director through IE3 Global at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan.

What brought you to be a Resident Director?
My study abroad experience in the U.S. was one of the most influential factors in my decision to work for the IE3 Global program in Japan. I can’t express how much I was supported by my friends, roommates and friends’ families while I was in an unfamiliar place and studying in a foreign language. This stems from my strong sense of obligation (giri), in which individuals repay each other by returning gifts (okaeshi) given to them.

What are some unique aspects of your city and country?
Tokyo’s railway system is one of the very unique aspects of Tokyo with 13 subway lines and more than 100 surface routes. Also, students can do many activities in the limited time. Visiting museums, Japanese Gardens, Akihabara (a district in Tokyo), shrines, cat cafés and many other places is possible every weekend. Many students visit Kyoto, Osaka, Hokkaido, Okinawa and many other places in Japan during vacations. It is difficult to decide where to begin exploring given the many options!

What is one thing most of your students may not know about you?
I am a chocolate lover. Students who visit me eventually discover that I always have chocolate in the drawer in my office.

What are some of your favorite aspects of being a Resident Director?
One of my favorite aspects of being an RD is having the chance to learn from both students and host families. It is not easy being away from family and friends and attempting to live in a country where English is not the first language, but I have been able to see how both students and host families try to learn from each other through personal acts of kindness beyond the language barriers. Another great aspect is seeing students again when they return to Japan. Some of them come back as JET English teachers and some of them come back to spend time with their friends or host families again. I have already seen 5 former students in 2014-2015 and enjoyed talking about their memories of being in Japan and their future goals.

What are some of the challenges of your job?
Being on duty for 24 hours is one of the challenges. I actually receive emergency phone calls from students and host families in the middle of the night almost every year. Saying goodbye to students is also another challenge of my job. Their time in Japan feels short to me as I enjoy spending time with them and seeing how they improve in Japanese and learn the Japanese culture.

What have you seen as the biggest challenge for incoming students?
Commuting on the crowded train in the morning rush hours is the first and biggest challenge for incoming students. However, the new experience makes students understand that they are in a different country. Without a manual or guidebook, they learn how to stand and use their cell phone in the very limited space on the train; they learn to adapt.

What is your advice for students planning to attend your program, or to study abroad in your country?
Students can start preparing for study abroad in Oregon. Some students say in the first meeting or write in their essay that they would like to experience “cultural exchange” but students have the chance to help the exchange students and other students from other countries on their own home campus. Students can also start researching places they would like to visit in Japan and make their own list of “Things To Do in Japan”. If students are not taking a Japanese class at their home university, I would highly recommend that they find Japanese students on that campus and start a “language exchange” so that they won’t be nervous communicating with their Japanese host families and Japanese friends when they arrive in Japan. These preparations will make the beginning of the new life in Japan start smoothly.

What is one thing you think students shouldn’t forget to pack for life in your country?
I think I would say to pack one thing which makes the student feel happy. It could be an English book, organic food, or cheese flavored Doritos. Some students have been missing many foods which they can’t easily get in Japan. For example, Reese’s chocolate is one thing students have a hard time to finding here.

What do you think is the most important take-away for education abroad students?
Through a study abroad experience, students can find different values from ones which are closely tied to the way students have been raised in their countries. It is important to step outside to see and feel different values through diverse experiences in a different country. Students will be able to use their experience to achieve future goals, even those beyond language, race, culture and religion.

To learn more about attending Marie’s program follow this link!

Rosa Keller was drawn to Thailand because of her love for Thai food. In fall of 2014, she studied in Khon Kaen, Thailand, through CIEE. At Oregon State University, Rosa is majoring in both Nutrition and Anthropology. During her time abroad, she was able to integrate her knowledge of people and food by conducting a nutrition intervention in rural northeast Thailand.

Before traveling to Thailand, I had no idea how much I would learn about intervention planning, public health, and group work. Having so much freedom and knowing that the work we were doing was really helping people live healthier lives gave me so much motivation to do my best. The last couple of months of my time in Thailand were dedicated to conducting research, planning community visits, and finally, implementing a public health intervention based on community need.

Our group conducted a nutrition education and a diabetes screening intervention in a rural village Cuisine l Rosa Keller in northeast Thailand. We decided to focus on these topics due to an increasing rate of Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in Thailand, specifically in the northeast region. Our initial research concluded that Nonsang Village had a high prevalence of T2DM but a low rate of diabetes screening. Additionally, we observed a lack of awareness of healthy portion sizes and dietary practices. Our research in the community led us to develop our intervention.

First, we held a community dinner where we educated villagers on healthy portion sizes, mindful eating, and the biological and behavioral factors that lead to development of T2DM. All of the food that was prepared for the dinner was either grown or purchased from the village to ensure that the meal was sustainable. The menu included things like steamed veggies, chili sauces for dipping, omelets, and spicy green papaya salad, with fruit for dessert. The following day, we worked with the Health Promoting Hospital and village health volunteers to hold a T2DM screening session. For both events, there were around 30 participants in a village with a population of around 500 people, which was our expected outcome.

Overall, the intervention was a success; but, most importantly, through our experience we were able to build a strong relationship with the community. I truly hope that our intervention empowered the villagers to eat healthy and be more mindful of their dietary intake. Through this intervention, I was able to learn how community participation is an important asset to a successful intervention.

While at OSU, Charlene was an Environmental Science and International Degree student with a minor in German. She studied abroad at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg (Freiburg, Germany) on the OUS Baden-Württemberg Exchange Program during the 2012-2013 academic year. Now, she has moved back to Freiburg to attend a Master’s program. In this entry, Charlene writes about the challenges associated with returning to live in to the place she studied abroad.

One morning last December I was completely absorbed in thought while on my way to class. It was raining and I was waiting to cross the street. I was in Freiburg, and had been for about three months. During those three months I had moved twice, completed three Master’s courses and been selected to be a student representative for our class generation. But this morning, my mind was reaching back into the not-so-distant-past. If you’ve been abroad before, you know that those experiences never leave you. I had spent my junior year in Germany and my senior year back at OSU, devising my return to Germany for graduate school.

On this rainy morning I asked myself if I was really back in Freiburg; the Freiburg I longed for during my senior year in Oregon. My Master’s program is in English. This is both a blessing and a curse in Germany. Although I can study with ease, it is often difficult to find time to practice German. This time in Germany, my life is completely different than it was two years ago. After my first time abroad, I arrived back to the states to finish my last year at OSU. I came home with a suitcase and a bag of “post-study-abroad-blues”. It was difficult to readjust to every day life and culture in the United States. Yet, here I was on this dreary morning, standing in Germany once again, feeling just as disjointed and unprepared for re-adaption back into Freiburg as I had felt when returning to the U.S. a year before.

As I stood underneath gloomy skies akin to those in Corvallis, I began to reflect on my readjustment to the United States. I suddenly felt a tinge of regret and bitterness when I remembered how I had struggled to re-embrace my own culture the previous year. Why was I reflecting on this? Wasn’t I happy to be back abroad? I was just beginning to come out of my re-culture-shock phase of living in Germany again. Many things in Freiburg were different than I had remembered and, many things had simply changed while I was gone. I had also changed through my re-adaptation to the United States. I began to realize these circumstances and feelings were very similar to how I’d felt in the United States, so why had I now been re-experiencing this in Freiburg?

Quite simply: each study abroad experience for each person, each place and each purpose, is very unique and individual, maybe even one-of-a-kind. It is not something to be recreated, even when we consciously or subconsciously decide to do just that! I realized I had subconsciously hoped that my journey back to Freiburg as a Master’s student would return me to that romantic junior year of study abroad when German culture, language and the irrevocably liberating independence of living abroad for the first time, were all so foreign to me.

It finally dawned on me: we are responsible for the interpretation of our own experiences.

Returning to your first study abroad destination again for an extended period can allow you to better process and reflect on that remarkable experience, especially in fully unpacking and contextualizing its significance in your life. But don’t forget, life’s a trip- it takes us places- but never in reverse. New adventures lie ahead.

To read Charlene’s entry about her first time abroad follow this link.

Jenna Wiegand, a senior in the University Honors College majoring in both Finance and Sustainability, spent fall term in the Turks and Caicos Islands studying marine ecology and environmental policy through The School for Field Studies. During her time studying in the South Caicos Islands, she wrote this entry about her new, and sometimes out of the ordinary life abroad.

Those that know me know that I sometimes have “a day for change” where I try something new. While this is usually food because I am a terribly picky eater, these last two months in South Caicos have witnessed me trying too many new things to remember—things that are now so commonplace, but posed such discomfort only two months ago. I’ve made a list of a few of those new experiences that are now a part of my daily life:

My ears are always salty from the constant snorkels and research dives. Every afternoon we have a field exercise or activity in the water, so there is hardly a day where I go more than six hours without being in saltwater (either the ocean or our saltwater showers). There is no fix to this.
My bed is always sandy. There is no fix to this either, unless I put a rinse bin at the base of my bunk since our dorm floor is perpetually sandy. Oh well. Consider it nightly exfoliation?
I have a serious bootie tan line. This is from my diving booties and this winter it will look like I am wearing permanent leggings.
I am now a vegetarian. This was mostly because we eat enough rice and beans anyway and the meat options are not that appealing; plus the black bean veggie burgers are much tastier.
All of us here at the field center count the days until the food boat comes in, and a pan of brownies calls for a stampede.
I tried tofu. (Shock of shocks) It was good.
Showering every 2 days or longer (once a week?) is perfectly acceptable here. Snorkeling and diving are seen as “pretty much showering” so there is no need for more. Yes, this is kind of nice but it is weird to think that what is completely normal here would never be fine in the U.S.
I am a pro at back-rolling off boats to go diving. And I’m getting a little bit more arm muscle from hauling around my gear, weights, and tank (what… 40, 50 pounds?? It’s ridiculous).
The best compliment you can receive here is “You look clean” or “Your hair looks clean”.
Special occasions (or just evening cravings) call for a trip to town to buy a pint of ice cream.
I can identify around 110 marine organisms… algae, corals, fish, sharks, rays.
I have held a couple of sharks and have tried to catch a turtle (yes, “turtling” is a real thing).
I have now spent 5.5 hours of my life underwater, and have dove to 73 ft!
I will never underappreciate a washing machine again. I now do laundry the “easy” route which means forfeiting my fresh water shower and using it to fill up a tote bin so I can hand scrub my clothes. And let me tell you, to decrease shower use more, the shower has a chain pull that you must hold down the entire time to continue the flow of water. So there is no way you will lose track of time and take a 20 minute shower.
Four pm snack might possibly be the best time of the day.
I don’t even know what a sweatshirt is anymore.

But clearly all is not bad in this place because I am loving it for the most part. Snorkeling and diving are indescribable, as are the sunsets. After dinner, the weather cools off and there is usually a breeze through the hammock area– then it is absolutely wonderful to be out. It is so nice to be a bit disconnected from technology and phones; a lot of the materialism and outward vanity of the U.S. is gone as well– you don’t have much, but it is so easy to be happy with what you have.

So at the end of the day this place is pretty awesome, even with the cockroaches and the salt.

OSU Abroad

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Category Archives: Returnee

Jump First, Think Later

Meet a Resident Director: Ryan

Meet a Resident Director: Réka

Meet a Resident Director: Marie

Nutrition Intervention in Northeast Thailand

Studying Abroad, Continued?

A Day For Change

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