The Study Abroad Experience

I flew back into JFK about 5 weeks ago, ending roughly a year and half abroad. It was an amazing experience that went by way too quickly. At the time, I tried to live entirely in the moment and try to appreciate every minute of my experience. However, over the last month of being back in my home town of Meriden, Connecticut, I have had plenty of time to think over what I've been lucky enough to do. Some of the high lights include:

Exploring the temples from the movie Tomb Raider in Cambodia. 

Taking a short-cut to work by biking through an island with a castle on it in Schwerin, Germany.

Being part of 35,000 strangers who act like brothers in support of their local football team in London, England.

Parting with the locals in Oviedo, Spain.

Spending my birthday weekend in the "Miami" of South America, the city of Ponte Del Este, Uruguay.

Renting a car with a couple of Europeans I met in a hostel and exploring northern Patagonia.

Memories I will have forever.

A Quick Synopsis of The Last 18 Months

It all started in Fall 2012 when I agreed to go to Cambodia as part of Dr. Primm's international relations class. We left for Penom Pehn on New Years Eve, and spent 3 weeks moving around the country. I arrived back in Honolulu the day before the spring semester started, and finished up my last semester on campus at HPU. From there, I flew to my summer job in northern Germany. I spent spent two months teaching English and bouncing around between, Schwerin, Berlin and Hamburg. After leaving Germany, I ended up going to another part of Europe to study for a semester at Richmond The American University in London. I had a blast becoming immersed  in the football (soccer) culture of central London. I was also lucky enough to take a weekend to visit one of my best friends and explore his home town of Oviedo, Spain. After finishing up my finals in London, I returned to the USA for Christmas before flying into Buenos Aires, Argentina, to finish my Spanish minor. I spent the semester completely enveloped in the culture of Argentina, as I made tons of new friends and watched my Spanish competency reach new levels. I made a few trips in Argentina to explore Patagonia, as well as a few of the major cities throughout Argentina and Uruguay. I finished school on June 18th and flew back to the USA on the 20th. I am now a college graduate and already missing it. 

The Benefits of Study Abroad

Obviously, study abroad lets you go to awesome new places and see incredible new things. But you gain so much more than that:

The Value of Time

Studying abroad makes you value time differently. For the last 18 months, I always knew exactly how much time I had in each place. Before I arrived everywhere, I already had my flight to the next place booked. When you look at the calendar and see that you have only 20 days left somewhere, you make sure to make the most out of all 20 of those days. After my first couple of experiences abroad flew by, I started to think about the whole semester in the same light. "I only have 120 days in this country, I better make the most of every minute." After living this way for the last year and a half, this ideal has turned into the way I live my life on a daily basis. I learned to go out, and try to make the most out of every day that I have.

New language

This is something that I'm sure everyone thinks about before studying abroad, but one they won't fully appreciate until after they have been in a new country for a week or so. It is true that I loved my time studying in London. I also have plenty friends that live in Ireland, Australia, Canada, and South Africa who make these destinations seem like incredible places to visit. However, if you ask me, studying abroad in an English speaking country is kind of like the junior varsity version of study abroad. Yeah, you are in a different country, but the experience is not the same as if there is a different language to learn. The study abroad experience I got the most out of was definitely Argentina. This is because I wanted to learn Spanish, and in most parts of Argentina, there was no one around that could speak any English. You are left with no other option but to practice and get better at your second language. The first week can be scary or frustrating, as you'll almost certainly get the wrong food at a restaurant once or twice, but after a few months, when you're having full conversations with locals in your second language, you'll realize it was all worth it.

Jobs

All of my experiences abroad were through AIFS, which partners with HPU except for my summer job in Germany. The reason I was able to get this job is because my boss was looking for people who had experience abroad (which I had through Cambodia) or were eager to get more experience abroad (which I could show her through my plans to live in London and Buenos Aires). Studying abroad helps you get jobs abroad. Also, even if you want to live in the USA, it shows employers that you are capable to interacting with different people and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. 

No More Comfort Zone

New countries mean new experiences. A lot of times, these new experiences can stress you out, or push you to the limit, but they also show you what you are capable of and help you see what you are interested in. The first big event I remember that took me way out of my comfort zone was when I landed in Berlin, Germany for the first time. I got out of the airport with just vague instructions on how to get to my housing which was another 100 miles or so away. I had to take bus to the train station, take a train to the main train station, then take that train 45 stops or so to the city of Schwerin. When I got there, I realized that Schwerin is a huge city with 4 different train stops, and had no idea which one. I spent the whole day traveling, getting lost, trying to figure out how to use pay phones, and exchanging money, while having absolutely no idea what any of the signs meant in German. Obviously it was frustrating at the time, but making it through experiences like those help you gain confidence. Because I made it through that trip, I know I can get to pretty much anywhere in the world without too much of a problem. At the same time, I can't look back at that experience without smiling and it was definitely something I will always remember. 

New Food

You get to try completely new food abroad. Studying abroad opened my eyes to tons of amazing kinds of food I have no idea how I ever lived without. It'll be tough to find comfort foods like peanut butter and jelly abroad, and although there undoubtedly will be a McDonalds, the menu will be a lot different. So you have to live and die with the local cuisine, and you will learn to love it. After a year and a half abroad, I no longer want to watch a soccer game without fish and chips, make a sandwich without chimichurri or have a night out that does not end in a Schwarma. Some of the best food in the world is out there waiting for you.

Dating

The last thing I have to mention is dating abroad. It's a lot different. If you thought a first date in the USA could be awkward, try it while relying totally on your second language. Definitely an experience worth having. 

I know this post is a little long but these are some of the most important things I learned will studying abroad. I could go on for hours and if you have any questions feel free to shoot me an email. I want to thank Melissa and Kri for helping me every step of the way with this crazy last year and a half.

The last thing I want to say is this: If you graduate without study abroad, you did something wrong. It's a must have experience. 

I'll leave you with a few pictures of my favorite places from the last year.

Good luck and travel safe-

Sam Cooke

The group in Cambodia.

Statue in Seoul, South Korea

Los Dedos, en Punta Del Este, Uruguay

The Berlin Gate, Berlin, Germany

View from the London Eye, London, England

When I was teaching English in Germany, my friend Alejandro was teaching Spanish. He invited me to hang out in Spain with him while I was studying in London, so I flew over. This is the group of us that went out on a Friday night in Spain.

A section of the Berlin Wall, Berlin, Germany.

El Obelisco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Looking over the city of Oviedo, Espana.

Perfect seats for penalty kicks at the Tottenham Hotspur game in London, England.

The widest waterfall in the world, Iguazu Falls, Puerto Iguazu, Argentina.

A castle on its own island, Schwerin, Germany.

Big Ben, London, England

Jumping into the water in Patagonia. San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina

HPU Summer 2014- Uganda and Rwanda

HPU Summer Study Abroad 2014

Part II – Uganda

The second half of the study is finished, and the students have all gone home. Our second destination contrasted the conflict in northern Uganda between the LRA and the UPDF (formerly the NRA) and the conflict we experienced in Rwanda. But before we could do that, we had one stop to make on our long bus ride between Kigali and Gulu.

We stopped in Mbarara, the quickly becoming the second largest city in Uganda and also the home of President Museveni. Just outside the city, perhaps a few hours, is the refugee settlement of Nakivale, and every year, hundreds and sometimes thousands of Rwandan refugees flee from the country to take up refuge here, in this rudimentary and extremely dusty camp. The existence of the camp was not surprising, but the recent refugee status of many of its residents shocked us. We knew that supporters of the former Hutu Extremist government had taken refuge in Congo, Uganda, and elsewhere, and while the government has tried to bring them back to face justice, this process is met with mixed success. Where the post 1994 refugees came from, I had no idea. Until they told their side of the story.

Nakivale

These refugees told a story of a different Rwanda than the one we had been shown in Kigali. They told us of a Rwanda where 'tribe'-based killing continued well belong 1994 perpetrated not by the government but by Paul Kagame's RPF. They were frustrated and understandably nervous. By speaking up, they put themselves in danger. No real activism had ever come from 'Westerners' hearing their stories leading to an almost complete lack of awareness outside East Africa. But the Rwandan government knows of their existence, and the refugees told us of a time when the RPF, partnered with the Ugandan Police Force, raided the camp and forcefully repatriated much of the Rwandan population. Those who refused, we were told, were shot and their bodies taken away.


It was shocking to hear their accusations of Genocide and the harrowing account of a widower whose wife and children were shot and their bodies buried and covered with a playground. Others told of how they first fled to Tanzania, and when they were brought back at the point of a gun, they fled again when the government raided their village. One woman told of how, when her husband spoke out against the government, he was imprisoned on false charges, escaped, and fled to the Congo. Rwandan officials came to her house to question her on his whereabouts, physically assaulted her, and left her beaten and forced to flee with her children.


Some of those we talked to were undoubtedly supporters of the Genocidal regime in Uganda. One implied he had assisted with the work without saying it outright. Others, however, were very definitely not. This made me question the accuracy of their stories, but I realized, even if their stories were half true, I couldn't trust the stories I was told by the Rwandan government either. It was a puzzling situation.


After the settlement, we continued our studies in the north, in Gulu across the Nile. We focused not only on conflict but on development. Gulu during the war was the most heavily populated region in the world for NGOs, and while that population has since moved on, the effects of their presence still influences daily life in Gulu. We met the King of the Acholi people, the largest ethnic group in the north, and talked on how ethnic identity helped to shape conflict.

Gulu

We also heard from professors at the local college. They told us the history of Uganda from multiple perspectives, many which were highly critical of the government. You would not hear that in Rwanda. Uganda, since independence in 1962, has never had a peaceful transfer of power. Each has been at the point of a gun, and Museveni is proving no different. First he changed the term limit so he was able to serve beyond his 2 term limit. Now he is lobbying to change the age limit so he does not have to leave at 70, only a few years away.


We talked to those who were in Gulu as it was turned into an official displacement camp when the government rounded up all Acholi people and placed them in camps for safety against the violent LRA. These camps, however, served as a recruiting ground for the LRA and hundreds of children were abducted from these camps by the LRA to serve in their militia. Both sides used children in the conflict.


In Uganda, unlike Rwanda, no clear story emerged. We learned the war started in 1987 when Acholi began to be persecuted for their support of the former president, President Obote, himself deposed twice by violent coup. Uganda is divided along ethnic lines, and when a new President comes into power his home region prospers as the expense of others. Museveni is from south of the Nile, and as we traveled from the south to the north, the differences were stark.


The war was fought in the bush, initially with vast popular support. But as the war dragged on and the casualties mounted, support fell away. The first leader of the resistance failed at high cost, and her successor, Joseph Kony, vowed to do better. He let nothing stand in his way, and perpetrated horribly violent acts to stop informants, spies, and opposition. Soon the people of the north were being oppressed by both sides, and called for an end to the conflict. Neither had the power to end it, however, at it took the start of the War on Terror and US involvement on Museveni's side to end the conflict. The LRA was pushed out in 2007 and people began moving back home in 2008. As the records were tallied, it soon became clear that almost as many people had died in the camps as had died in the war, and civilian casualties perpetrated by both sides were astronomical. The King himself was abducted as a child, and it was only luck that saved him.


The LRA still operates to this day in the Congo, South Sudan, and the CAR. The government operates as well on a regional level, and while they have diverted some small relief aid to the region, aid is largely left to the management of local NGOs who have almost become the government in a sense. They are responsible for the welfare of the people, and without their help many would die or suffer extreme circumstances. The problem comes when these NGOs, as they are wont to do, pull out. This is the situation Gulu is facing today, and it is difficult seeing the situations which people are reduced to. Many would fall on their knees in the streets, begging for anything we could give. They have nowhere left to turn.


This is but one of many facets of post-war Acholiland. Another is the resurgence of traditional peace-keeping methods which try to bring ex-militia back to their families. This process has mixed success, and serves to strengthen the ethnic ties which bind people together, but also pull people apart.


We finished out study in Busiya, on the border with Kenya. We reflected on what we had learned over the past five weeks, and took a much needed break. Peace and Conflict, it seems, are never as cut and dry as they might at first appear. Everything plays a role in war, including development aid. Economic scarcity and ethnic division may lead to conflict, but ethnic ties and severe economic stress can solve it too. I will be processing what I've learned for some time to come, and while I expect no clear answers, at the very least I will know I must become aware before becoming involved. I would argue that there are no truly neutral positions in conflict, and blind support of one side or another can have disastrous consequences.

South Korea, Summer 2014

안녕하세요!!!! (Annyeonghaseyo) I arrived in Korea last week Sunday, July 13. I am posting a bit late because we don't have wifi in our dorms. I am currently studying abroad at Konkuk University and I must say it has been a blast! There are so many things I want to see and do! I have been in Korea for about a week now and I can proudly say that I have adapted pretty quickly. Overall the ISP program here at Konkuk is very rewarding and safe. The student volunteers are awesome mentors and great life-time friends. The foods here in Seoul are also amazing. Korea is very safe! I was surprised at how easy it was to get around by subway. My only advice for future study abroad students are too be careful when crossing or walking on the streets, the drivers are pretty crazy! Other than that, I highly recommend coming to South Korea and experiencing life here. I am learning a lot and making new friends from not only Korea, but also from around the world. Until next time!

-Tray