Luke Franklin ’09
Hometown: Castle Rock, Colorado
Major: Russian Studies, International Studies
Study Abroad: Tbilisi, Georgia, Fall 2007

Most memorable experience: Choosing a “most memorable experience” from several months in another country isn’t easy. I’ve never seen anything like the High Caucasus, or climbed to a church built 2,170 meters above sea level. I’ve also never had to go around a village asking for keys to said church and, when eventually finding their possessor, been treated to a breakfast of homemade wine and musky cheese. On the other hand, in November after the mountain passes had for all intents and purposes become “impassables,” I spent evenings walking the few blocks from my host family’s flat to Parliament, to speak in a mixture of Georgian, Russian, and English to encamped protestors calling for an early presidential election. A couple days after the protests began, I walked out of my Chechen language class into a little market, where everyone was silent. Their eyes were fixed on a small television that was flashing scenes of civilians running, tear gas and water hoses, and police in riot gear. And walking home that evening, reaching the turn to my street, I saw four buses full of police and military forces blocking the street leading to Parliament.

Most important thing I learned: I learned plenty of Russian, eventually struggling through Pushkin and Chekhov in the original. I memorized Chechen poems about mountain hospitality, bride kidnappings, and raids on Cossack villages. And I learned how to eat khinkali dumplings. I learned that many in this country with such strained ties to Russia wished that Putin was their president and had a few good words for Stalin. But really what I learned was how to take my near-bedridden host mother’s blood pressure, my nightly ritual.

How study abroad changed my life: I always wanted to travel; finally getting a taste of it has made me also want to live abroad. I hope I’ll be spending a lot more time in the Caucasus.

Mara Forster-Smith ’09
Hometown: St. Paul
Major: Anthropology, Art History
Study Abroad: Ghana, West Africa, Spring 2008

Most memorable experience: Preparing fufu with my host family for the first time. Fufu is a common dish in the Ashanti region, where I spent most of my semester in Ghana. My family ate it once a week on Sundays, and it took the entire afternoon to prepare. My host mother would begin by boiling plantains and cassava in a large pot. When they were soft, we would pound them together using a large mortar and pestle. As my host brother pounded, my mother turned the mixture with her hand, adding water until it became a sticky ball of dough. Then she served the fufu with a fish soup poured over it, and we ate it with our hands, as is typical with most Ghanaian food. While I never learned to love fufu the way some do, I always enjoyed preparing the dish with my host mother and brothers.

Most important thing I learned: Living with a family offers a richer experience of a country and culture. As part of a Ghanaian family, I felt a sense of support and security in the new and at times overwhelming cultural and geographical setting that surrounded me. My host mother in particular had an enormous influence on my growing accustomed to Ghanaian life. She explained certain cultural customs, such as greeting an elder formally and using my right hand at all times, as courteous gestures that were essential to know and to use in daily life. Living with a Ghanaian family I learned the importance of establishing meaningful relationships with people wherever I go.

How study abroad changed my life: I long to return to Ghana to visit my host family and to take part in the culture and community once again. That’s why I’m planning to spend my first year after graduation in Ghana, doing service work and teaching through a program for young adult volunteers. I fully comprehend the importance of cross-cultural friendship and understanding, and I wish to promote this idea through my life’s work. The semester I spent living in Ghana has shaped my view of the world and given me a picture of the person I hope to become.

Mai Youa Moua ’09
Hometown: Oakdale, Minnesota
Major: Asian Studies, Psychology
Study Abroad: Nanjing, China, Spring 2008

Most memorable experience: Toward the end of our semester in Nanjing, a good friend and I decided to make a weekend trip to Beijing. Before returning to Nanjing, we just couldn’t resist having Peking roast duck, a delicacy of the ancient city. After our feast we rushed to catch our overnight train, but missed it by three minutes; we’d underestimated the size of Beijing. All we could get were standing tickets on a 15-hour overnight train. I was scared, tired, and frustrated. As we entered the train, all eyes were on us, especially on my white American friend. It must have been rare to see a laowai on such a crowded train. People were sitting knee to knee, and there was nowhere to stand except in the aisle. Fortunately, two girls offered to let us squeeze in with them and soon they helped us find seats in the dining car. It was still uncomfortable, but at least we weren’t standing. By the next morning I was able get us hard sleeper tickets after being called a “stupid Chinese” for not understanding the guard with his thick Beijing accent.

Most important thing I learned: I realized that I’ve taken so many things for granted, such as clear blue skies, open green lawns, the quietness and orderliness of the streets, freedom of speech, the openness of the Web, and much more. Knowing what I didn’t have abroad, I’ve learned to appreciate more the things I have here in
the States.

How study abroad changed my life: It’s given me another perspective on life and opened up another door for me. I never knew what it felt like to be in the majority until in China I was mistaken for Chinese and blended in with my black hair and dark brown eyes. The sense of comfort I found in China has assured me that I can survive there and do psychological research, an ambitious dream of mine.

Andrew Meeker '09
Major: Geography, Environmental Studies
Study Abroad: Cape Town, South Africa
Spring 2008

Most memorable experience: A few friends
and I rented an old Toyota Corolla, learned how to drive a manual transmission and on the roads from the opposite side, and drove north to Namibia, navigating the vast and diverse deserts of the world’s second least populated country. Toward the end of our trip, we wound from the coastal city Swakopmund through the Namib-Naukluft Desert to the Sossusvlei sand dunes. We drove along bumpy dirt roads, taking it slow and losing our hubcaps along the way. Around late afternoon, the scrub desert transformed into jagged mountains covered in long green flowing grass, stretching forever. It made me smile.

Most important thing I learned: During my trip, I did an independent research project on the liminality of refugee identity. Specifically, I was looking at the role of the refugee identity in Zimbabweans’ experience in Cape Town. Being an outsider, I was very aware of intruding in the foreign world I was entering, and I had trouble coming to terms with it. At the same time, I was hearing the Zimbabweans’ stories of being outsiders in a foreign land, and having a very different experience from mine. It struck me how the interaction between a person’s identity and environment has a substantial influence on the privileges, limitations, oppression, access, and prejudice the person experiences in that place.

How study abroad changed my life: I worked with a refugee activist group called People Against Suffering Suppression, Oppression and Poverty. Early one morning at the Department of Home Affairs, I was chatting with a Zimbabwean asylum seeker (also named Andrew). He said to me, “We are just a spectacle to you.” I was taken aback by how direct he was, but also by the pertinence of his observation. It was impossible to do that work not as an outsider; it is impossible to exist outside of myself. Although this is not necessarily problematic, it was difficult to reconcile my desire to make positive change with my being an outsider. I think my experience in South Africa cemented my desire to “think globally, act locally.” Travel is important to gain a global perspective, but I’d like to “be the change I wish to see in the world” in my own home.