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Seville’s Plaza de España is one of many attractions that makes the city alluring for abroad students

My dad has recounted his experience in Guadalajara, Mexico, countless times.

As a part of the study abroad program at Grand Valley State University, he flocked to the heart of Jalisco for an entire month away from home. Instead of spending his senior year battling against the bitter brush of spring or the barrage of homework, he spent his time basking in the town’s vibrant life, passing the sun-scorched weekends and running around the foreign streets with his friends. 

He recited his interactions with the locals around him—they didn’t utter a syllable of English. During his classes at the university, the professors and students only spoke in a flurry of rapid Spanish, his second language—the language he spent hours practicing daily in order to master.

After hearing about the dour old lady he shared an apartment with and the devastating lack of air conditioning, I concluded that I would do that too.

Studying abroad has always been a consideration of mine. As I applied for colleges this fall, I scoured numerous websites for universities to gather knowledge about their study abroad programs and opportunities for abroad experiences. The thought of spending a semester studying Spanish in the old town of Seville, Spain, or expanding my knowledge of writing and literature in the idyllic villages of Italy is alluring. 

According to the United States Department of State, the top countries that abroad programs populate each year are the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, China, Ireland, Australia, Costa Rica, and Japan. Many students choose to participate in study abroad opportunities for many reasons, some of the popular motives simply being to fully immerse themselves in culture-rich epicenters or improve their fluency in their respective languages.

Spending merely two weeks abroad in college can aid in fluency and expand a student’s sense of the world around them, allowing them to participate in international experiences and gain independence—a type of independence that is only amassed by ditching all tethers and learning through actions and experiences rather than learning by spoonfed knowledge.

Although many deterrents exist for people embarking on their own abroad journey, the long-term benefits exceed the pressures of financing the trip, homesickness, and learning to adapt and thrive in a foreign country. 

The Institute for Study Abroad analyzes the competitiveness of modern careers and the job market; having the skill set to navigate through adversities and flourishing during difficulties is a key trait employers hunt for. Being abroad not only strengthens perseverance but also broadens one’s worldview, personal development, and, ultimately, competitive edge, allowing that individual to stand out by being one of the mere 15,000 students who seek study abroad opportunities every year. 

I have vicariously been living through my dad’s experience in Mexico. All of the new customs, traditions, the people he met in the city, the depth of self-sufficiency and cross-cultural communication he returned home with—these skills and interactions were gained through adventure and exploration; the knowledge he gleaned abroad taught him more about the real world than any of his classes.

He left Grand Rapids as a rudimentary Spanish speaker, his understanding of the language barely exceeding the novice level. Real-world interactions increased his proficiency in the language and the exposure to the culture—both concepts that were urged and discussed in his classes but never mastered until he had the opportunity to practice them when it truly mattered. 

Pursuing a semester or even a few weeks abroad—outside the country’s borders and the confinements of the traditional classroom—can enhance student’s perspectives of the world and equip them with a toolkit stocked with problem-solving skills, the ability to navigate through cross-cultural interactions, and an array of vibrant, lifelong memories.