Sailing the Seven Seas

By Tiffany Lee

 

When you think of attending college, you think of a structured educational system with great classes, brilliant professors, and an exciting learning environment, at least that's what I think. Most people go to college, stay on the same campus for at least four years, graduate, and go on to successful, or not so successful, careers. But I want to strongly urge everyone to explore the option of leaving the safety of your campus home, if even for a quarter, and studying abroad.

This past spring quarter I participated in Stanford's Overseas Program in Oxford and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. We had the structured educational system, but British style. We took normal seminar classes, but we also had the opportunity to integrate ourselves into the British school system by taking a one on one tutorial with leading scholars in a variety of fields ranging from literature to economics. I learned more in the one tutorial I took on medieval literature than I have in most of the huge lecture classes I've taken on the Stanford campus. Why? Because I was held accountable for everything I did. Every week I showed up with a paper spouting my views on a subject that I knew my tutor knew everything about. And by discussing my paper with her, I not only learned things I didn't know before (that she had met J.R.R. Tolkien at a swanky medieval educators gathering), but also had a chance to practice verbal communication skills that are important in the "real" world. I worked hard, but learned a lot in the process.

We also had a chance to eat with Oxford students and attempt to integrate ourselves with the Oxford society. We could participate in their sports, attend their classes, and have tea with them in the Junior Common Room (JCR). And some programs take this integration even farther by putting you in a host family who may, or may not, speak English.

But the most important thing I learned from my trip abroad is cliché but true: I learned how big the world really was. Living in America, I think most of us are trapped in the American bubble. Although we hear about other cultures and societies, we are used to thinking and experiencing the world the American way, as the dominant government in the world. We, for example, are used to an intense, cut throat environment not only for entrance into universities but also for jobs and for success.

Which was the biggest shock not only going to England but also traveling throughout parts of Europe. People in Europe seem to enjoy life so much more. In Italy they take siestas and sit in cafes watching the sunset with a glass of wine and good company. I'm not saying that people don't do that here. We all do, but for the Italians that relaxation is a part of their daily life and the stress of Corporate America is the anomaly. Although it's true that they have not come as far as we have economically, I don't know if we are any happier than they are.

Visiting is also not the same as living in another culture, especially when you embark on the adventure all by yourself. I've visited China and Taiwan, but they don't feel like home to me because I was essentially being a tourist. But in some odd way, England has become a second home to me. I am seriously entertaining the idea of eventually moving to London and making it my primary home. I've learned so much about being independent and about who I am as a person there; soul searching that could not have been done in the comfort and familiarity of American society. And I think everyone who has traveled abroad will agree with me when I say that it is the most eye-opening and wonderful experience.