IU students go global with travel programs

Each year, IU offers a wide variety of chances to learn not only outside of the classroom but also outside of the country. Here are just a few of the places to which students are traveling this summer.

1. HAWAII
Sophomore Hannah Smith’s “International Reporting” class was originally scheduled to visit Japan. Just hours before the students’ departure, however, a massive earthquake struck the country’s coast, resulting in a devastating tsunami and a nuclear disaster.

“We started calling and emailing sources just to see if they were okay,” Smith said.
Plans were changed, and the trip was postponed until the summer. There was a change in destination, too — the students were sent to Hawaii, instead.

On the island of Honolulu, they had to find a story relating to some aspect of Japan, do interviews and necessary research, submit a story on their chosen topic and create an audio slide show.

Smith chose to write about Hawaii’s most popular dish, the plate lunch, which consists of a scoop of macaroni salad, a scoop of rice and some sort of protein, usually Japanese.

“It was a weird mix of cultures in one Styrofoam box,” she said.

The island’s mix of nationalities and histories was not only found in its food, but also in every aspect of its culture, Smith said.

“It was absolutely amazing — my favorite trip I’ve been on by far, including trips abroad,” she said. “Even though it was in the same country, we had to keep reminding ourselves that it was because it felt so different.”

2. GREECE
Lizzy Colle said her favorite reason to travel to Greece is because of a small island called Aeigna.

“There, we visited a local pistachio farm and spent the rest of the day touring the island and living life as a local,” Colle said. “The sail boats docked from all around the world were so cool.”

Colle recently travelled to the country with her class “The Business Cultures of Greece.”

“We got to hear from all types of businesses — small businesses, corporations, multi-nationals, entrepreneurs, family businesses and politics,” she said. “The trip truly gave me a better perspective of doing business abroad and encouraged me to continue my international business co-major.”

Colle said Greek classes seemed to be much more laid back than those in the United States. The group attended a small business class at a local university, and students were walking in throughout the length of the lecture. One student made a business presentation in street clothes.

3. THAILAND
A group of 11 doctoral students from the School of Education traveled to Bangkok, Thailand in June to learn about postsecondary education in Southeast Asia.

The course, “International Service Learning in Thailand,” paired the students with other students from six Thai institutions to work on various projects.

While the course provided the students with an understanding of education in Asia, its designer and teacher, professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs Nancy Chism, said she hoped it would also provide a better understanding of how the system works in the United States.

“I hope that there is that sense of civic engagement, that you are a global citizen and that you have a sense of empathy and camaraderie with colleges and universities throughout the world,” Chism said.

4. KENYA
Students in the class, “Reporting on HIV/AIDS in Africa,” spent two weeks learning about and reporting on one of the planet’s deadliest diseases and the people who must face it.

After weeks of preparation in Bloomington learning about the culture of western Kenya, the basic pathology of HIV/AIDS and the epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, the students traveled to Eldoret, Kenya.

While there, students worked in two-person teams with Kenyan partners to report from Eldoret and rural villages in the area. Each team wrote feature stories about health provisions in the Eldoret area, before heading to Nairobi to learn more about health reporting from international correspondents.

5. RWANDA
As a part of the IU Books & Beyond Project, four IU students, as well as four IU staff members, will deliver 2,100 books to the Kabwende Primary School in Rwanda.

“They will travel for two weeks, spending one week at the Kabwende Primary School delivering the books, conducting teacher trainings and hosting a community dialogue,” said Lauren Caldarera, assistant director of the IU Global Village Living-Learning Center.

The Project pairs IU students with students from other schools. Together, they write and illustrate children’s stories. Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, students at the Kabwende Primary Center work with mentors from a neighboring school to create their own stories.

The students in the Project then raise money to publish the books before making the June trip to deliver them to the students at Kabwende, where they are used as English language learning materials and to help combat the Rwandan book famine.

6. INDIA
At the end of July, students in the class, “Business in the Flat World,” will travel to India to learn about globalization and emerging economies, as well as the economy and businesses specifically in the country.
 
“The itinerary for this year is pretty exciting,” said Tia Trueblood, assistant director of International Programs at the Kelley School of Business. “They will spend four days in New Delhi, where they will do a number of business and cultural visits, including a Suzuki manufacturing plant and meeting with an important political figure. They will do a day trip to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal. Then, they will fly to Bangalore, where they will visit local and multinational businesses.”

The students will also take a day trip to Mysore, a city that recently made national headlines after two wild elephants went on a rampage in June.

“I trust the students will be safe, though,” Trueblood said