University of Denver Study Abroad – Page 14

You Forge Local Relationships

Oh, María. That’s how I start many of my stories about my Spanish host mother. María was the best. She was a chubby, 68, year-old Salamanca native who had hosted students for 30 years, and made my study abroad experience 100 times better. We would huddle around my computer to watch Barcelona soccer matches, she would cook me paella every Sunday, and we would spend dinnertime joking around, watching terrible Spanish television, and talking about our days. When I would come home for a midnight snack, which was more like a 5-6am snack, María started calling me “The Ghost” and asking if “The Ghost” had visited the night before to raid our refrigerator.

Something wonderful about study abroad is that you have time to develop local relationships, whether they’re with your host family, roommate/flat-mate, or other students. No person I met on a weekend or week-long trip has ever impacted me as much as María did with her kindness and fun home atmosphere. She taught me to be more blunt and reinforced me to shamelessly laugh at myself, whenever possible.

Find Local Gems

Let’s just say Trip Advisor only goes so far. Yes, it will give you the best restaurants, destinations, etc., but sometimes you don’t want the “best” experience, you want a genuine one. My favorite spots in Salamanca were the ones I made my own, like the coffee shop I would go to after class to chat with Beatriz, who would give my friend Ian and I advice, or the Erasmus Bar where my team and I would play trivia every Wednesday (we won thrice, I might add). None of those places would make a website because they were unspectacular at face value, until you made a memory in them.

A book fair came to Salamanca, which was a ton of fun to walk through

You live outside your comfort zone

Some say that growth comes from discomfort, which I agree with 100%. Growing as a person means exposing yourself to new experiences, feelings, and situations that lie outside of the status quo. The wonderful thing about study abroad is that you are uncomfortable all the time, so by default you’re growing all the time. Whether you’re navigating a new country in a new language, battling your way through classes, meeting new people, missing old people, or finding your niche in your new home, study abroad is difficult at times, and it SHOULD BE. If everything has a shiny exterior and you never come across a meaningful challenge, you miss the depth that leads to growth. There was one weekend, pretty early into my study abroad experience, where the eight people I knew were out of town, and I almost went Jack Nicholson-style The Shining on everyone due to cabin fever. That experience prompted me to be more proactive, but also helped me learn how to be alone and made me a better person.

You learn street smarts AND book smarts

First of all, when you’re studying abroad, you’re ideally doing some studying. Wow, novel concept here, I know.

While I was in Spain, I took Portuguese classes, a class on the history of the Jews in Spain, a class on Spanish literature, and the History of Philosophy, of which I learned a lot, to the point where I still have trouble calling philosophers by their English names. Aristotle or Aristoteles? I don’t know either…

But, moreover, you also learn street smarts. You learn the skills necessary to navigate uncomfortable situations (cough, exactly what I mentioned in the last reason, cough). I had my passport stolen my first night in Morocco, which makes most problems a cakewalk when I face them now. At least I’m not in a foreign country and speak none of the national languages desperately trying to find a way home…

You have the opportunity to travel and live in the world.

Now, in case you were worried, I’m not advocating for a study abroad trip with no travel when I mentioned finding local gems and forging local relationships. I had a blast visiting other places in Europe while I was abroad and have many friends whose travel stories are mind-blowing. What I am advocating for is for you to soak it up when you’re out there. This is usually a once in a lifetime opportunity, make sure you leave a different person than when you entered.

-Max Spiro, Study Abroad Assistant

I like games. A lot. I grew up watching my older brothers play video games and I got in on the action with Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Command and Conquer, Age of Empires (we had our own LAN sibling games), Starcraft, and Super Smash Brothers. Nowadays I don’t have a TV, and don’t have a lot of time or money as a student. However, I do have my laptop and the internet; which in my case, translates into playing League of Legends.

Favorite Role: Support

Rank: Bronze II

Ward Score: 2391

Most played Champs: Leona, Nami, Thresh

If I was a Champion I would be: Annie- small and super cute. (I even named my teddy bear Tibbers)

So, I like games, but I also like study abroad. A lot. Where do games and study abroad intersect?

What is the biggest barrier to students studying abroad?

The most common answer is finances, but some would argue otherwise. Isn’t the biggest barrier to students the overwhelming feeling they get when the first thing people ask is “where do you want to study abroad?” It is paralyzing to students when especially when they have absolutely no idea. There are thousands of program options to choose from, most don’t know how to even start researching programs, let alone have a program chosen already. ProjectTravel is using game design and gamification to make study abroad more accessible to students.

What is gamification?

Gamification is using game elements and game design to solve problems and engage people. The three basic elements of game design are: onboarding, engagement and progression loops, and rewards; and overall gamification makes it impossible for people to fail.

Onboarding-Games include guides, feedback, limited options, and limited obstacles.
Engagement & Progression Loops– our brains love challenges and feedback.
Rewards-Compared to extrinsic rewards, intrinsic rewards have longer pay-offs.

Overcoming the Overwhelming Feeling

Instead of starting with a question that belongs in level 10, challenger mode, “where do you want to study abroad,” why not start back at level 1, easy mode: tell me a little about yourself, where you’ve traveled, and what you are studying? ProjectTravel takes it a step further, using game design to limit options, making it easy for student to click their answers instead of having to type in responses. Obstacles are also limited, as ProjectTravel only shows certain information and questions to students that must be completed before they can move on to the next level. Below is a sample of what is asked of students in level 1.

We can see multiple examples of game design: feedback through the status bar, rewards, limited options and obstacles. The expectations and information required from students is very clear and understandable, and limited so that students are not overwhelmed from the beginning. After completing Level 1, students are rewarded with a badge and will gain access to a slightly more difficult level.

The majority of students when asked, say that they are interested in studying abroad. According to the Open Doors Report, only 1% of American students actually study abroad. ProjectTravel argues that students are currently so unaware of study abroad programs that they don’t have the opportunity to make a choice. What is the role of the study abroad office? Is the study abroad office responsible for marketing programs to all interested students? If your answer is yes, then perhaps gamification of the study abroad application process is the new best tool to reach out to this generation of students.

– Emilie, Study Abroad Assistant

Tag: University of Denver Study Abroad

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