If you haven’t seen Jose Bowen lately, don’t be alarmed.
The dean of the Meadows School of the Arts has been jet-setting it to Africa, where he’s been looking at possible additions to SMU’s study abroad programs.
Ed Board would just like to say thanks.
Ask anyone who’s left the confines of SMU for a summer or semester: Studying abroad is one of the most rewarding and life-changing experiences you’ll ever have.
And though it’s obviously not for everyone (it requires a certain level of maturity), Ed Board firmly believes that anyone who gets a chance to study abroad should.
After struggling through daily life in a country where you don’t speak the language – and we’re including British as a separate language in this situation (where fries are chips and chips are crisps) – the drama in the SMU bubble seems a lot less important.
Studying abroad is more than just a vacation. It’s a complete immersion in a culture that’s foreign to your own, one that makes you aware of who you are from an outsider’s perspective. That’s something that leads to a great deal of reflection and an assessment of values – and on a level much deeper than any classroom experience can provide.
Kudos to the Study Abroad Office for all its hard work. The employees are there to help prepare students as much as possible before sending them out on their own, and they do an admirable job.
Ed Board can’t help but think, though, that with the extremely high demand to get into existing programs, adding other options only makes sense. After all, it’s not as if Europe or Australia have monopolies on life-changing experiences. Other continents and countries are just as amazing, if not moreso.
With the (hopeful) addition of African sites, students will be able to be immersed in a culture entirely unlike their own while getting the chance to see up close some of the struggles that comprise the daily life of most of the world.
European countries have great culture, and it’s admittedly cool to actually see some of the iconic landmarks in the history books. But there’s more than one way to broaden your perceptions, and Africa certainly offers a more than viable, humanitarian-awareness-raising alternative.
