2008 Woodie Awards
Study abroad can spice up long break
Kara Savage
Issue date: 12/6/07 Section: TruLife
Junior Ashley Blodgett is spending her Winter Break on the beach.
Not all students will be traveling home for Winter Break, but some will spend their break taking courses in the December interim. One of the courses offered in the December interim is an opportunity to study abroad in the Caribbean.
Blodgett is one of the six students who are enrolled in this abroad course. She said this is the first time she has been abroad and that she is looking forward to the experience. But being gone for the holiday season will be a different experience.
"I think it will be a little difficult [being gone over the holiday season, but] it will be a nice experience, and maybe I will gain a little independence from it," Blodgett said.
She said she is excited to learn about the history of both countries the class will be visiting and that she is eager to snorkel and go on the submarine tour.
Professor of history Steven Reschly is the leader of the study abroad course that will take place from Dec. 20 to Jan. 11. During the time abroad, students will learn the history of Barbados and Curacao while earning six hours of credit.
They will have the opportunity to learn about the history as well as the culture of Barbados, an English sugar plantation system, and Curacao's Dutch slave trade, he said. While abroad, they will visit two of the best museums in the Caribbean: the African Diaspora Museum and the oldest continuously operating synagogue in the western city, Jewish life in the Caribbean, Reschly said.
"Part of the point of study abroad is what can you do that you couldn't do in a classroom here, and one of those is instead of putting up a picture on a wall and talking about it, you can stand in front of a piece of art," Reschly said.
In order to plan an itinerary for the study abroad program, Reschly said he visits the locations and gains an idea of where he would like to go before he puts together the course. Two years ago, he and his wife traveled to Curacao and visited the Kura Hulanda Museum, and he said he thought there might be a way to work this into a course.
Not all students will be traveling home for Winter Break, but some will spend their break taking courses in the December interim. One of the courses offered in the December interim is an opportunity to study abroad in the Caribbean.
Blodgett is one of the six students who are enrolled in this abroad course. She said this is the first time she has been abroad and that she is looking forward to the experience. But being gone for the holiday season will be a different experience.
"I think it will be a little difficult [being gone over the holiday season, but] it will be a nice experience, and maybe I will gain a little independence from it," Blodgett said.
She said she is excited to learn about the history of both countries the class will be visiting and that she is eager to snorkel and go on the submarine tour.
Professor of history Steven Reschly is the leader of the study abroad course that will take place from Dec. 20 to Jan. 11. During the time abroad, students will learn the history of Barbados and Curacao while earning six hours of credit.
They will have the opportunity to learn about the history as well as the culture of Barbados, an English sugar plantation system, and Curacao's Dutch slave trade, he said. While abroad, they will visit two of the best museums in the Caribbean: the African Diaspora Museum and the oldest continuously operating synagogue in the western city, Jewish life in the Caribbean, Reschly said.
"Part of the point of study abroad is what can you do that you couldn't do in a classroom here, and one of those is instead of putting up a picture on a wall and talking about it, you can stand in front of a piece of art," Reschly said.
In order to plan an itinerary for the study abroad program, Reschly said he visits the locations and gains an idea of where he would like to go before he puts together the course. Two years ago, he and his wife traveled to Curacao and visited the Kura Hulanda Museum, and he said he thought there might be a way to work this into a course.
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