<p>Yea, studying abroad definitely not a necessity. Her problems are those of a priviledged few.</p>
<p>With that said, I hope to study abroad in Russia. Haha... I should really be more up on the value of the dollar to foreign currancy.</p>
<p>I agree with some posters...I don't think that this article painted the situation in an ideal light. In some ways, it trivializes what I believe to be a valid topic for discussion. A few thoughts...</p>
<p>(1) Study abroad policies vary school to school. At some schools, as has been pointed out, studying abroad is mandatory for certain majors (foreign languages, international relations), so is not just a 'whim' of the wealthy. At my college, students paid regular tuition no matter where they studied abroad...some saved, and some lost money. Financial aid still applied as usual. Studying abroad was hugely encouraged and was accessible to all students. A privilege, still, of course, but not as exclusive of one as is being assumed in some of the previous posts.</p>
<p>(2) Whether you go to Western Europe or to rural Africa, time spent abroad is a valuable experience. I don't think there's anything bad about encouraging global-mindedness in American youth. Yes, someone who heads to Paris will probably have a much more familiar experience than one who heads to Cameroon, but I maintain that both options are good ones. Not every 20 year old is prepared for a major cultural leap...some have never been out of driving range of their families, some have never been abroad, whatever the reason is. I think that heading to somewhere that's been 'Westernized' is still quite preferable to heading nowhere at all.</p>
<p>(3) Speaking personally, I had never left North America before this year when I headed to Western Europe for research. The emotional and cultural adjustment was not easy. The choice of location was necessary, not intentionally luxurious. And the weakness of the dollar continues to be a major roadblock. Trust me...relative to being at home or in a college dorm, there is little that is 'luxurious' about trying to find urban European accommodations or get around on a student research stipend.</p>
<p>I'm not claiming to be representative of the majority. There are study abroad programs that (and students who) are irresponsible. But I maintain that study (and even just travel) abroad is an experience that ought to be encouraged, and the weak dollar is currently making the opportunity a bit more difficult, and a lot more exclusive than in recent years. On a family member's recommendation, I checked Borders for the current version of what she had once bought as Europe on $5 a Day. Just for the record, the book is now *Europe on $85 a Day<a href="and%20that%20was%20a%20few%20months%20ago,%20so%20it's%20probably%20already%20risen">/i</a>.</p>
<p>So, to reiterate...I agree that the article made some of these complaints sound petty, but I don't think they're fair to totally dismiss, either. Should they take a backseat to world hunger, sex trafficking, and child slavery? Obviously. But is it still an unfortunate situation? Of course.</p>
<p>A final thought, courtesy of Mark Twain: "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."</p>
<p>I was in Western Europe last fall (when the exchange rate was already horrendous), and I spent less in the entire semester than the young woman in the article spent in six weeks. So even though it's not cheap to study abroad in Europe, it's not as expensive as the article made it out to be either.</p>
<p>I bet Bush is busy blaming terrorism on this one. Or France, take your pick.</p>
<p>I'm guessing Japan would be quite expensive. I would go into a little debt to study in Japan for a semester, though. That's a life dream of mine.</p>