Students who study in another country, even for a short period of time, report that their understanding of culture, history and languages deepen during their time there.
To highlight experiences like these, the Tomlinson Library hosts multiple Cultural Cafe events each semester. The most recent one focused on the Study Abroad Program and was held on March 14 at 12:30 p.m. in library room 139.
The panel consisted of three Colorado Mesa University (CMU) students who spent time abroad. Each gave a presentation on their experience in another country and gave attendees a deeper look into the program.
Head of Access Services and Outreach at Tomlinson Library Laureen Cantwell-Jurkovic helped facilitate and plan the Cultural Cafe. She was responsible for the food choices, which correlated to all three countries. She chose baked brie for France, patatas bravas for Spain and a classic sticky toffee pudding for the United Kingdom.
“This Cafe is a little different from one where someone is from a different country, or grew up there. These are students who are coming back from having traveled to foreign countries. It helps showcase the benefits of our Study Abroad Program,” Cantwell-Jurkovic said. “It showcases the experiences that you can gain: friendships, cultural awareness and food awareness. It also might encourage students who are deliberating studying abroad to decide to pursue it.”
The three students that spoke were senior in Spanish Benjamin Tuka, senior in criminal justice Halle Romero and senior in computer information systems Chad Long.
Tuka spoke fondly about his time in Spain. He was there from August 2021-July 2022, the longest out of the group.
“It was actually a lot easier for me to make international friends. To be able to go out and create a life and create these relationships in a foreign city and build something for yourself from the ground up was the best takeaway,” Tuka said.
Tuka stated that the experience helped him to realize that he does not want his career to be centered around one place, he wants to work with people around the world. He said that he wanted to be in unfamiliar environments, even though that may seem intimidating at first.
Long had traveled to France for a semester. He talked about how that experience was like a rollercoaster for him, with many fun memories overlapped with the adjustments to his schedule and a different learning style.
Long stated that traveling and learning other languages opens up doors to seeing and understanding the rest of the world, which he believes is an experience everyone should have.
“If anybody’s a fan of Matthew McConaughey, they should go read his book, ‘Greenlights: Part Two.’ He writes about a concept called the ‘Pioneer Frequency’ and he talks about his experience studying abroad in Australia. That’s what really planted the seed for me to go study abroad as well,” Long said.
Romero spent the month of July in the United Kingdom. Her trip was short compared to the others because she is unable to miss training as a member of the CMU tennis team.
“Being able to travel during the summer was pretty cool, because one of my goals in college was to study abroad. It was super fun, I got to see a lot of places and do new things and meet a lot of new friends,” Romero said.
Romero spoke about how the history in the United Kingdom was visible in the streets, where you “could still see smoke from bombs and fires from World War Two on some of the buildings.” She stated her favorite part was exploring the boroughs of London, as each one was unique and full of stories.
Students who study abroad have many options in terms of where to go. Long suggested parts of Europe for a more Western experience, but encouraged others to choose to go to continents such as Asia to break away from what they are used to. He also stated that if students do go to a country that speaks another language, they should immerse themselves before the trip.
“[For example], if you’re going to France, watch French movies, listen to French music and really learn your French before you get out there because French is really, really challenging,” Long said.
The next Cultural Cafe is on April 12 at 12 p.m. and will cover Scotland in library room 139.
