Studying abroad in another country is an enormously significantexperience in the life of any student.

The father of a student studying abroad through the Universityof Wisconsin-Madison explained that, for his daughter, the lessonsshe learned while in Spain transformed her entire worldperspective.

Students discover how to study in classrooms with no airconditioning, how to shower in cold water and drink warm soda, andhow to negotiate with people who speak the REAL native language,not just the spoon-fed classroom kind.

The dad from UW-Madison wrote that his daughter learned”How to make sense of things when [she] watche[d] planes flyinto buildings at home, and [her] roommate tells [her] that shefeels sorry about what happened but the world knows that Americadeserved it.”

Students at SMU need to remember the world today changesdramatically every minute.

Living in America, students get used to driving huge SUVs,getting a 48-oz soda for 32 cents and interpreting the world aroundthem as it is filtered through the mass media, parents andfriends.

In America, students only recognize one part of the world. Aspowerful as our country is, it is still only one country out ofhundreds.

Our country is only 228 years old, and our nation’shistory pales in comparison to those across the surroundingoceans.

These continents saw the evolution of human kind; thesecountries witnessed the rise and fall of Alexander the Great, thesecultures observed the greatness and the tragedy of the RomanEmpire.

Students can’t find that kind of history in theirresidence halls, fraternity or sorority houses or on-campusapartments.

They can find it overseas, on other continents, in differentcountries.

Ed Board cannot emphasize enough the importance of takingadvantage of the study abroad and exchange programs SMU offers.

Students can go anywhere in the world, from Australia to France,and see things they never imagined they would see.

Ed Board says find an overseas sweetheart and visit every museumyou can, discover a favorite café and absorb everything.

These sites, sounds and smells will truly stay with you for therest of your life.