University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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MORE THAN SCHOOL - STUDENTS GO ABROAD by Sarah Davis They step off the plane into a strange and unknown land, faraway from home. They are foreign exchange students - ready to experience a year in another country. A foreign exchange student is more adventurous than the average person, said Sara Martin, assistant director for the Office of Foreign Student Services, he or she is curious and eagar to learn new things. The University of Kansas has two offices that ar- range student exchange programs. The Office of For- eign Student Services works with all foreign students who come to KU to study on exchange or otherwise. The Study Abroad Office arranges for about 450 KU students to study in other countries and for about 45 foreign students to study at KU each year. Many of the student trips are financed through scholarships. Some- times there is an agreement with a specific university called a reciprocal agreement which allows students to pay as if they were in-state residents. It ' s an adventure, said David Fairhurst, a junior from Lancshire, England. I really enjoy it. Steve Dixon, sophomore, who traveled to Harge- sheim, Germany, said that he learned about himself while studying abroad. I felt self-confident, Dixon said. There was no one to hang on to or depend on like mom and dad. Fairhurst also recommended traveling alone. Since you ' re further away from home you have to learn to rely on yourself, he said. Hye-weon Moon, a junior from Seoul, South Korea, said I really wanted to be independent, and now that I ' ve travled to America I have that chance. Becoming a foreign exchange student involves several steps. Once a student has decided on a country, he or she must talk to a study abroad advisor to discuss options, arrangements and courses at the foreign univer- sity. The student must then fill out an application, be interviewed by the Office of Study Abroad and finalize plans for the trip. Many student trips are financed through scholarships. To be chosen to be an exchange student is quite a feather in your cap, Martin said. What is it that interests students to venture away from what is familiar into a foreign country? For Moon, traveling to the U.S. meant viewing things differently. I found things I can ' t find in books, she said. I can see other viewpoints, what America thinks and its ideas, and the hidden power that leads America. Junior Ines Shuk from Bogata, Colombia said, The academic part is important, but learning how people live in other countries and why they live that way is more intriguing. It ' s also interesting to see the academic op- portunities for American students and how they deve- lop their careers. Most foreign exchange students welcome the oppor- tunity to make new friends and experience the culture as part of their trips . Fairhurst said, I enjoy meeting new people and discovering the traditions of the country you ' re study- ing in. After this year I ' ll be a more well-rounded person. Dixon said that he studied in Germany to promote better relations between countries. You get a better understanding of the country so you don ' t have prejudices or misconceptions about it, he said. Freshman Kristian Mogensen from Copenhagen, Den- mark, agreed. It ' s important to clear up misinterpretations, he said. What we hear about (America) isn ' t always true. I just wanted to get to know America much better. Martin said, All foreign exchange students have one thing in common. ..their desire for new exper- It ' s not only the exchange students who obtain new experiences, but also the family or roommates with whom they live. Fairhurst ' s roommate, senior Melvin Hodges, found the experience to be rewarding. It ' s interesting to see KU through someone else ' s eyes, to see what they are surprised about, Hodges said, It helps you realize things you ' ve never noticed before. Worried by the horrible things she had heard about living with a foreign student, sophomore Lisa Walawender had apprehensions about having a foreign roommate. I ' d heard they were hard to understand, but I found this experience to be interesting and fun, she said. Being from Kansas, I see a new perspective on things. What is experienced in a distant country can go beyond textbooks and classes. What I learned (in Germany) was more than just school-oriented, Dixon said. I learned about foreign culture and life, cooperation and especially how to adapt to different situations. Mogensen learned to become more independent. I had just gotten out of high school (before traveling here) so I had to learn how to manage myself, he said. Shuk said that she adapted to how things were done in America. It is sometimes hard to understand the order in which people work, she said. Everyday things are done differently in America such as taking a bus. I had to learn how to do everything. Being in America has affected my value system. I see different points of view and think ' I never thought of it that way. ' Some foreign exchange students found that traveling helped them in their majors. For Moon, whose major is English Language and Literature, being in America meant being thrust into the center of English culture. It gives me the feeling that I ' m really experiencing 18

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ONE-WAY BUS TO NICARAGUA by R.H. Prestridge Five KU students drove a 1963 Chevy bus to Managua, Nicaragua, in summer 1988 to give it, in a symbolic act, as hu- manitarian aid to the Sandinistan govern- ment and its people. Automobile parts are scarce in Nicaragua because of embargos. The students were Jon Bell, Lenexa graduate student; Ted Millich, Kansas City, Mo., senior; Dave Burklund, Junc- Ben Biglcr LrK-f Journal WoiU I Millich and Dave Burklund make last minute adjustments on one of the bus ' s rear-view mirror : leaving Lawrence for Wichita to join the convoy to Nicaragua. tion City senior; Sue Ask, Great Bend junior; and Nancy Stoffer, Prairie Village senior. Bell, an Army veteran of the Vietnam- era, organized the trip after hearing about the U.S. Veterans Peace Convoy. The convoy was formed in Minnesota by Viet- nam-era veterans and included about 40 buses. The purpose of the convoy was to take non-military supplies to the Sandin- istan government. Bell and the other stu- dents raised 2,800 for the journey from KU students and local businesses. Bell, who labels himself conservative, would not say why he went on the trip nor give significant details of the journey. The only thing he did reveal was that the bus left Lawrence on May 28 and arrived in Managua on June 27. Burklund, however, was willing to dis- cuss the trip. I wanted to go on the trip for three reasons, Burklund said. At first, I was curious about what was going on in Nica- ragua. In Guatemala, I had doubts as to if I wanted to stay on the convoy or not. Then, he said, he decided to do some- thing concrete. He took a stand by taking the bus into Nicaragua. The KU students did not stay with the convoy, but broke off in Austin, Tex- as, after a dispute about publicity. They went on intending to leave their bus in Nicaragua regardless of the consequences. I didn ' t know there was a two-fold purpose to the trip, Burklund said. At first, I thought the convoy leaders wanted to go to Managua to help. And then I found out that publicity was another point of the trip. For example, the convoy stopped in Oklahoma City on Memorial Day. While names of soldiers killed in Vietnam were being read at a ceremony, the convoy leaders made a point of bring- ing up their purposes about going to Nicaragua. I thought this was very uneth- ical, almost to the point of sacrilege. They also brought up the issue of the homeless, which I thought was irrelevant to the trip. Ted Millich, reflecting on the trip, said his most memorable moments were those in Managua, looking at the earth- quake-damaged buildings and the cars that needed repair. It was strange seeing a building dis- ected, where you could ee all four floors, he said. The streets had many cars, but they were all in bad shape because of the embargo. Still, the people were friendly and receptive to us and to our mission. Overall, Millich said, the trip was safe, except for the occasional mordida, or bribe, that the students had to pay to soldiers to get through a country, and one accident. I was driving the bus, hit a telephone pole and knocked out a mirror, Millich said. After arriving in Managua, the stu- dents gave the bus to the Sandinistas and hitchiked back to the United States. The U.S. Peace Convoy did not immediately get to Nicaragua, because the U.S. go- vernment would only let them go if they would agree not to leave the buses once there. Each of the students went his or her own separate way, arriving in the United States in early or mid-July. However, Sue Ask stayed in Central America. Bell sought legal counsel in case the Treasury Department wanted to charge him with illegally leaving the bus in Man- agua. Bell has talked to William Kuntsler, a New York lawyer who defended the Chicago 7, a group of anti- Vietnam protesters during the 1968 Democratic convention. The other students couldn ' t be charged with any illegal activities in Man- agua because the bus was in Bell ' s name, not theirs. 17

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English reading, writing and talking, she said. Shuk, who is a journalism major, said that traveling abroad helped her to be more open-minded and to understand people better. Fairhurst said that KU offered more diverse classes than his school in England did. I ' ll get a more well- rounded education here, he said. Dixon said studying abroad was helpful in becoming fluent in a language. I learned in one year what it takes some people six years to learn, he said. Cynthia Bodle, advisor for the Study Abroad office said a lot of students had problems adjusting when they came back from studying in a foreign country. The office offers re-entry workshops for returning students. It ' s like culture-shock since it ' s so stimulating over in the other country, she said. Yet it suprises people how much they grow when they come back. illustration by Dave Eames 19