University study abroad programs are more popular than ever in the United States.
According to a study released in November from the Institute of International Education, 205,983 American students studied in other countries during the 2005-2006 school year, which is twice the number of study abroad students eight years ago.
Most American students who study abroad go to the United Kingdom, according to the study. The most popular places for Ball State University students to study abroad include England, France, Australia and Spain.
Jill McKinney, director of Study Abroad and Exchange Programs, said students feel more comfortable going to a Western European country because they perceive the culture to be the same as American culture. However, she said, that's not always the case.
"Students still feel culture shock in Europe because the undercurrent is different," she said.
European countries are not the only places students can go to study. The Rinker Center for International Programs at Ball State is trying to expand study abroad programs that go to countries outside of Western Europe with its annual Study Abroad Fair. Information about all the study abroad programs Ball State offers will be on the first floor of the Art and Journalism Building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
"It is an opportunity for us to display the different study abroad opportunities for students here at Ball State," McKinney said.
The fair will highlight all of Ball State's study abroad programs including hot spots such as London and less popular places such as Thailand. The least popular study abroad locations for students are in Southeast Asia.
"I wouldn't call them unpopular," McKinney said. "They're just warming up to travel."
Of the 624 students who traveled abroad through Ball State during the 2005-2006 school year and Summer Semester 2006, about 5 percent went to countries in Southeast Asia, McKinney said.
However, students who have traveled to these countries said the experience was worthwhile.
Graduate student John Olson, who is studying student affairs administration, went to Thailand during the summer of 2005. A religious studies major at the time, Olson wanted to go to a place where he could be immersed in a religious setting outside. Thailand, Olson said, is the only Theraveda Buddhist monarchy left in the world.
"It's very religious," he said. "Very, very Buddhist."
Olson went as part of a program called "Buddhism and Thai Society," which was available through the international student exchange program. Olson earned six credit hours during his month-long stay in Bangkok, he said.
Olson, who paid out-of-state tuition, said the trip was cheaper than paying for six credit hours during a summer semester on campus.
"I'd recommend the Thailand trip in a heartbeat," he said.
Olson found the country to be very different than what he expected, he said.
"I was expecting Thailand to be a lot less civilized than it was," he said. "They have skyscrapers. They have banks. It's not like what the world would picture."
The summer before his Thailand trip, Olson went to Iwakuni, Japan, to lifeguard and teach swimming lessons on a military base.
Olson said although he had never been to Europe, he did not think he missed out on any aspect of the study abroad experience.
Others who traveled with less popular study abroad programs said they felt the same way.
Senior sociology major Aaron Cunanan returned from his three-month study abroad trip to Denmark in December. Cunanan saw a presentation about education issues in Denmark and decided he wanted to observe the foreign system firsthand.
"I went there with the goal of just being able to observe the educational system and seeing how it operates and kind of seeing the positives and negatives of it," he said. "I got that opportunity. We visited three different schools in Denmark and we got the opportunity to teach in those schools."
Cunanan taught English to students in the sixth grade class, a seventh grade class and a class of 14 to 16-year-olds. "I worried about not being qualified enough to teach English because I haven't even graduated college yet," he said.
Cunanan is considering going back to Denmark after he graduates to teach, he said.
"I always heard really good things about the Danish educational system," he said. "And I wanted to see things that were a little different from the American system."
McKinney said many students are afraid of being unable to speak the languages of countries such as Thailand and Denmark. Cunanan said his classes were taught in English. Students from countries such as France and the Czech Republic had more problems with language than the English-speaking students, McKinney said.
Students also worry about trips delaying graduation, McKinney said.
Cunanan's trip did not delay his graduation, he said, but he did have trouble arranging courses that would transfer back to Ball State. Cunanan was one of the first two people from Ball State to go on the Silkborg Seminarium trip.
"It's a new program," he said. "It wasn't as structured, and it was hard to find course equivalents."
Despite the difficulties he had, Cunanan would still recommend a study abroad program to anyone in college. The key, he said, is having a goal for the trip.
"I think study abroad should be mandatory, actually," he said. "You don't really have another opportunity in your life to say, 'Hey, I'm going to go and live in another country for three months.' Do it while you can. don't be afraid to take the risk of stepping out of your box."
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