Did YOU study abroad?! If so, where and what inspired you to go?
Anna: While in university, I studied abroad in Valparaiso, Chile (not Indiana as my friends liked to joke!) My family is originally from Argentina so I initially had plans to study there instead; however, given the economic, political, and social situation at my intended time of travel, a family friend instead encouraged me to choose a safer option, such as Chile, for my study abroad experience. I was there for 5 months and I think it was the best decision I have ever made (as I would probably have never gone to Chile otherwise.) I'll get to Argentina someday!
So you haven't made the return trip to South America yet? Where have you been going in the meantime?
Anna: After graduating, I lived in France for a little while, where I attended a language school and did some volunteer work with a company out of Israel. I also did a lot of exploring! I went to Switzerland, and spent a few weeks in Turkey. I could rave about Turkey for hours - I had already done a bit of travel throughout the Middle East, mostly Jordan and Israel, but I was fascinated by this corner of Eurasia. Turkey's history, the physical geography, the people - it was stunning and all came together seamlessly in this beautiful country. You really feel like you're experiencing the past there. Its extraordinary.
What separates CCI from other study abroad program providers?
Anna: Greenheart Travel is the travel abroad department within our umbrella organization CCI, and most of our programs are available for high school students only. While we all been around for over 25 years, we formed Greenheart Travel about 5 years ago to highlight and emphasize our unique commitment to environmental action within study abroad. By incorporating the Greenheart Travel initiative into the CCI family, we give people a better idea of what kinds of programs students can get involved in, which ultimately emphasize a commitment to social and environmental projects as an integral part of study abroad. We also are unique in that we strongly encourage students to work in community-based volunteer or research projects while abroad. This makes Greenheart alum stand out in future college applications and job applications (beyond the fact that they have already shown initiative by studying abroad in high school!)
CCI also funds grant programs for volunteer projects. Right now, we recently funded an English book library in the country of Georgia; as there are few English books in Georgia yet a great demand for learning the language, we knew this project would be a worthwhile investment. It is projects like these that Greenheart Travel seeks to be a part of and contribute positively to.
What does the future hold for CCI? Any new programs on the docket?
Anna: We have new volunteer projects popping up in Asia - one in Nepal and another in Vietnam, and Greenheart Travel has our sights set on China! We're hoping also to create teaching partnerships in the coming years.
How interested are high school students in studying abroad?
Anna: Well, in the past year, 2000 US high school students studied abroad. This figure sounds like nothing when compared to the 30-40,000 international students who come from abroad to study in the US each year. I think there is a lot of interest from students but there are many hurdles to jump for study abroad - the biggest set back being the ability (or lack thereof) to transfer credits. It takes a bit of legwork to convince administrations to allow certain classes taken overseas to be considered the equivalence of classes offered by the students' school. Some schools really understand the benefits of study abroad and are really flexible with their curriculum, and yet others are more strict and difficult to work with.
What it comes down to is education: people need to learn and understand the invaluable benefits of studying abroad, and how much it transforms and challenges students to become worldly and independent thinkers. When parents and students know and agree that study abroad is a worthwhile investment, further pressure will be placed on legislation to make studying abroad a less difficult option for students.
What is the best advice you can give some considering studying abroad?
Anna: Do it now! The biggest thing is that life quickly starts to happen and if you don’t travel now, then you most likely never will. Excuses are many but opportunities are not! Instead of pushing and pushing and pushing it off until it never happens, travel now. There’s no better way to gain life skills than by traveling and experiencing other cultures.