You might have the friend, the young man or woman who has recently emerged from time abroad, wiser about the world and ready to dispense sage advice. Or, you may be that wearied traveler, endlessly irritating your friends and those whom you can trap at parties. For a variety of reasons, this caricature has become increasingly recognizable.
The number of American students studying abroad has increased by more than 20 percent from 2000 to 2004 and is expected to continue rising. In 2003-2004, the University alone sent nearly 9,000 students to study abroad.
The trend is a welcome one because of the national and personal benefits that experience abroad bestows. Though the United States remains the world's leading economic superpower, it no longer sits in a position of lopsided superiority. Consequently, the ability to remain economically competitive will depend on a greater effort to engage in other countries economically, diplomatically and culturally.
The need for engagement also comes from less tangible but equally essential needs. According to UT's globalization and international history professor Antony Hopkins, given the fact that the U.S. has never been less respected but has simultaneously spread its influence culturally, economically and militarily, "the paradox seems to be a huge disjointment between that real external commitment [to the world] and a lack of knowledge about it." An increased number of Americans abroad would potentially act as global ambassadors and smooth over the paradox.
As could be expected, the national benefit of becoming immersed in another culture extends to personal benefits as well. Two separate English studies in 2004 showed that learning a second language both increased an average worker's salary and increased the density of grey matter in the brain, the section that processes information. A similar consensus on the economic and intellectual benefit of time in another country has been made in the U.S.
But perhaps one of the greatest benefits given is the ability to perceive our own country with more perspective. Studying abroad, I probably learned as much about Texas and America as I did about Sweden. The cliché but useful saying that "a fish cannot explain the sea because it has never been out of it," applies here.
Granted, the explanatory powers of a fish are already low. Nonetheless, if the value of an education, as many people in the liberal arts college at UT and in the U.S. say, is to learn how to think about our surroundings, then the end result fits perfectly in line with the aims of the University.
While I'm happy to evangelize, I have to ask about the students who, unlike me, come from families who are neither filthy rich nor limited enough to qualify for full aid to study abroad. As with much of financial aid, when it comes to studying abroad, middle-class students fall into a hole - the unfortunate people who aren't able to get full support either from their parents or the government. Through searching and talking to people at the international office, I did learn that the situation is not hopeless.
Because UT is a public school, many affiliated study-abroad programs offer discounts to applicants. Individual programs and endowments offer scholarships. And generally, international advisers at the University are helpful in pointing students toward more economically feasible programs. For history in Europe, pick Prague over London. To learn Spanish, pick Latin America over Spain. In the most extreme cases, studying abroad can actually become cheaper than studying at UT.
The most helpful remedy in the future may come from the recommendations of the Lincoln Commission, a study formed by Congress and the president. The bipartisan commission, with a corresponding senate act introduced this summer, called for more than a million students abroad by 2017, with fellowships of up to $5,000 per person per year provided for that purpose. Currently, 190,000 American students study abroad annually.
But for now, make the best effort to get out of here. The deadline to apply to study abroad in the spring is Oct. 1. Admittedly, the immediate benefits to studying abroad may not be so concrete. The only useful thing I've used my experience for over the past week has been to translate a YouTube video for my little brother of an androgynous pop-star singing about LAN parties in Swedish. But the decision remains the best one I've made in college so far, a decision needed for our personal and national well-being.
In the essay, "Of Plymouth Plantation," William Bradford famously wrote of America: "We shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of the world upon us." When the world finally looks away, Americans must move to stay in view.
Lovegren is a government and history senior.
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