Students Depart For Winter Terms Abroad
With packed bags and eager goodbyes, many upperclassmen embarked on a broad range of winter term abroad programs, from Germany to Italy to Ecuador, to immerse themselves in different languages and new cultures, last week.
Senior Veronica Galimberti, who is currently abroad in Göttingen, Germany, described her first days there as exciting and shocking. “[It’s] almost like you can’t believe you’re really there and that you’ll be living here for two whole months,” she said. According to Galimberti, people in Germany are also warmingly accommodating of linguistic mistakes, and her trip has already improved her grasp of the language. “Although it’s only been two days, my German feels like it’s gotten exponentially better,” she said.
As well as applying for single term off-campus programs, Exonians also had the opportunity to apply for a School Year Abroad (SYA) program. Exeter, Along with Phillips Academy Andover and St. Paul’s School, has sponsored SYA since its conception in 1964. Such year long trips allow for students to simultaneously experience living in a foreign culture while also fulfilling rigorous academic requirements.
After being accepted by the SYA program, Exonians may study and reside in France, Spain, China or Italy. The Spain and France programs are only open to qualified upperclassmen who have had significant exposure to Spanish or French. On the other hand, the programs in Italy and China are offered to all students, allowing for language novices to attend, as well as Latin, Italian or Mandarin Chinese students who wish to further immerse themselves in the language.
Term abroad programs, however, are offered in England, France, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Russia, Japan and Taiwan, and faculty who are interested in a particular host school or destination organize the trips themselves.
Exeter also offers off-campus term programs located closer to home, at the Island School in the Bahamas, the Mountain School in Vermont and the Washington D.C. internship program. While the foreign studies are generally centered around language immersion, the Island School and the Mountain School are focused on sustainability and the environment, and the Washington internship program is designed to provide students a glimpse into working at the White House.
Each of these opportunities have competitive application processes, and many of them require essays and original work to be submitted from the students. All applications include sections to be completed by the student, their guardian and their adviser.
In addition to filling out supplements for certain programs, students interested in a SYA program must arrange an interview via Skype or in person with their assigned interviewer. Director of Global Initiatives Eimer Page, who organizes all off-campus programs, described the selection process. “The program directors own the selection of students, but the deans and health team can let us know if they think a student would be more successful staying on campus than going abroad,” she said. Financial aid is also provided for qualifying students.
Due to lack of student interest, as well as other complications, programs such as Russia and Ireland have been canceled temporarily in the past years. Some programs require a minimum of eight students to apply in order to run, while other programs can run even with only a few students. Page explained that the term abroad in Russia, which did not run this fall, was never officially canceled, but simply didn’t have any applicants. However, she said that there “may be a few interested next year.”
Regarding the trip to Ireland, Page revealed that external government inspection in Ireland actually barred the country from allowing minors to enter adult communities. “We can't guarantee that our applicants will be 18 by January when the program begins,” she said. “[We] are trying to figure out if this is permanent or if there is a way to still make it happen.”
According to many students, SYA and the term abroad programs provide excellent ways for students to escape the monotony of campus life while also furthering their studies. Prep Sarah Barrett is already looking forward to going abroad when she is a senior. “You’re learning a language in depth and you’re immersing yourself in another culture,” she said. “That’s really important to my life.”
Students who have participated in a term abroad or SYA program speak highly of their experiences. For senior Oreoluwa Solanke, the promise of language immersion lured her to spend the school year in Zaragoza, Spain with SYA last year. She had originally planned on going abroad during winter term to Ecuador, but she realized that an entire year abroad would greatly improve her language skills. “Once I realized the possibility of becoming fluent [in Spanish] and traveling throughout Spain for my upper year, I quickly changed my plans,” she said. Although Solanke wishes she knew more about Spanish culture before she went, the beauty of the culture she saw when traveling throughout Spain and learning a new language allowed her to overcome her original barriers. “I can now connect with an entire group of people and it’s thrilling,” she said.
“I can now connect with an entire group of people and it’s thrilling,”
Prep Lhamo Dixey values the opportunity of going abroad for another reason. She lived in Bodhgaya, India for a year, and she values her experience because it taught her more about her own culture as well as exposing her to Indian culture. “It taught me about how privileged we are here in America, and how we take things for granted,” she said. She now hopes to go to France her senior year to explore the arts.
Senior Kelvin Green, who participated in the SYA China program during his upper year, loved being able to discover hidden aspects of China. He noted that while the Great Wall is a must-see tourist attraction, his favorite activity was, in fact, visiting the rice fields in Yuanyang County.
While spending the year abroad, Green learned lessons about making a difference in others’ lives that he could not have experienced so fully at Exeter. “I’ve learned that the real business of living is centered around understanding and respecting the different perspectives people bring to the table,” he said.