Going home and leaving a home behind
Heather Wurtz studied abroad in Granada, Spain for the 2004-2005 academic year and also traveled to Morocco.
Heather traveled to Morocco during her study abroad experience. She took this photo of Rabat city through an archway.
But, now, in retrospect, that was just the first valiant step of a long journey, the only step one can really take into the unknown abyss of what is to come before us. That one step, though I did not know it at the time, has undoubtedly changed my life.
I realized a long time ago that I wasn't in Kansas anymore. Over a year ago I boarded a plane to Spain, for the first time leaving my home to live in a new location, a new culture for that matter, and with not a single friend and only a minimal knowledge of the language, all that I had was a spirit of determination and a bag full of nerves.
I will leave this home one-year wiser to the world, and one year wiser to the part I am contributing. For, not only have I undergone a journey into a new lifestyle in another country, but I have also undergone an emotional and spiritual journey of self-discovery. For when you study abroad, you are disconnected from everything you have known before. All of a sudden, you don't know a single soul, you must accustom yourself to cultural changes you never anticipated, and you are confronted with challenges that before were non-existent in your life.
While studying abroad, you become very aware of your own strengths and weaknesses and you must take them both with equal respect to learn from them. Learning another language, especially, is a very humbling process. I experienced my fair share of discouragement and self-doubt, but that made my times of progression and growth that much sweeter.
I have learned to speak another language and become part of another culture, but I have also found my baraka which means blessings of God in Arabic. I have found the value of true human connection- something that can go beyond words and into an intuitive awareness and compassion of others; I have found friendships that
come and go but are never forgotten. I took classes in Granada, but the life experiences have been the greatest lessons yet. And I cannot imagine not having chosen Granada. Where else can you find free tapas, a spot to pass time with friends that overlooks the Alhambra, the crazy Andalusian accents, the Arabic influence and the multitude of sub-cultures that fill the narrow, winding streets of Southern Spain?
Soon, I will be on a plane with memories, photos, and maybe a little bag of nerves, going home and simultaneously leaving a home behind. And, man, there is no place like home- anybody's little red slippers can tell you that...
March 1 is also the deadline for Fall Semester and Academic Year programs...like these.
Red Shoes Not Required
X
Gary Meenaghan studied at KU during the 2004-05 Academic Year as an exchange student from the University of Stirling, Scotland. Here he shares his experiences at KU.
Scotland and Kansas may be seen as direct opposites: Scotland, with its hilly, mountainous terrain, almost entirely surrounded by sea, frequently engulfed in cold - and usually wet - weather; Kansas, the heartland of America, 1500 miles from any coastline, technically proven to be flatter than a pancake and with 100 degree summers and bitter cold winters.
I study in Stirling. The campus is green. The people speak with a Scottish brogue, and my apartment is probably as close to William Wallace's memorial monument as you are likely to find. It has not always been like this though. In fact this time last year, I was living on the other side of the world in Lawrence. And I couldn't have been happier.
When it was confirmed that I could study at the University of Kansas on exchange, I was excited at the prospect of studying in America: A challenging experience, new people, independence, traveling...
hot weather! I soon started to speak with people about Kansas to try and get a head start. The impression given was that I would be stranded in the middle of nowhere with sunflowers as friends, plenty of space to park my tractor and nothing but a pair of red shoes to get me home. Thankfully, the people who told me this were very much mistaken.
You're likely thinking, what does he know; Lawrence is just like any other small, liberal city in America. Well, another great thing about Lawrence is that, because of its central location in the United States, the opportunities to travel are endless. I made several road trips in my year abroad and I can honestly say that there is no place like home. And I do call Lawrence home. It's my second home. My home from home.
At first Lawrence was full of strangers, but in very little time I realized that everyone is a stranger just waiting to be a friend. That is simply how the people in Lawrence are.
Where else can you go to a basketball game and instantly become an atom in the erupting volcano of crimson and blue? Where can you say 'hello' to someone at the start of the night and be their best friend by the end alcohol? Where else can you bursting address visit soon world?
JAYHAWKS ABROAD
Lawrence quite simply provided everything one could possibly wish for from an exchange program abroad. And more.
To see what life is like on the flip-side...you can study as an exchange student at Gary's university in Scotland by contacting the Office of Study Abroad.
Utopia is not too strong a word.
"I even surprised myself how much interest I took in the outcome of the Homecoming game in October." Gary is pictured here on the field after the game.
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SPRING 2006