Studying abroad broadens horizons

I find that I am lacking in opinions on current events at Tech, in Georgia or in the United States as a whole since returning from 10 weeks studying abroad in Western Europe this summer. But no matter, because I can take this opportunity to do a sales pitch for studying abroad.

I saw eight different countries this summer, and in every place it was hard to avoid making comparisons to home, both good and bad. It was refreshing to realize that there is a different way of doing things.

One of the first things I noticed about every big city in Europe was how much better their public transportation was than MARTA. It's so easy to get around the cities, which makes them seem much friendlier through accessibility. Getting lost isn't a problem, because you can always find the nearest subway station and make your way back to somewhere you know.

Getting lost, we found some of the most interesting and beautiful places by wandering around. Some of our most memorable experiences happened by simply setting out with no particular destination in mind. The best way to experience a place, after all, is to escape the tourist trap and see where and how real people live their lives. While we may explore foreign countries, we rarely do the same thing in our own. I wonder what we would see if we looked at Atlanta with the eyes of a visitor.

In fact, our whole country is much different from any place in Western Europe, the area to which we're most closely related. According to one of my history professors, most countries in that area have some type of socialist party and a conservative party. Compared to the left wing parties across the Atlantic, our liberals are very right wing. It is difficult, if not impossible, to affect social change with a limited system of government composed of two parties so close together on the political spectrum.

I've seen Americans unite behind the flag in the wake of terrorist attacks, a brief surge of patriotism in an extreme situation. In Europe, I saw patriotism that wasn't caused by tragedy but by sport-the World Cup frenzy. It is a much happier form of patriotism, and very contagious. There is something startling yet amazing about the way something like soccer can bring together all kinds of people from diverse backgrounds and cultures and make them proud to be a citizens of their countries.

It reminds me of college football, actually. But American football is a sport unique to us. If only America's favorite pastime was [real] football instead, our people, not just our politicians, could interact with the citizens of a large part of the rest of the world.

To me, interacting with the rest of the world is a great reason to study abroad, but there are others. With such a limited number of students from Tech traveling together, many friendships form outside the normal boundary lines that divide us. Labels-nerd, jock, Greek-don't matter as much when the people you're with are the only thing that is familiar. Without this common experience, most of us never would have spoken, much less become familiar with each other and shared our varied perspectives of our travels with each other.

You learn a lot about yourself out there in the real world, too. Mom and Dad aren't there to rescue you in case of an emergency. Sometimes you have to survive without the benefit of speaking the local language. But you quickly learn how you react to extreme situations, from rescuing a friend being dragged off by drunken, flirtatious British guys to getting desperately lost and finding your way back to a hotel in Paris at 3 a.m. Not that either happened to me.

The world is an enormous place, and I feel like I've seen very little of it-but studying abroad is a great way to start. Tech has some great programs, and the list is growing all the time. The new International Plan makes it easy to see many parts of the world while pursuing a degree. I'm jealous of all the rising sophomores from my program who plan to take advantage of the International Plan; I wish I could do the same. If it's not too late for you, I suggest you start looking at some of the many programs Tech offers. This time next semester, you could be in New Zealand, Mexico or Germany, to name a few.