Study Abroad

Reflections on Study Abroad

PittMAP: Spain, Morocco, India

PittMAP study abroad program in Granada, Spain, Meknes, Morocco, and Mussoorie, India

January-April 2017

This study abroad program has been the highlight of my time at university. The opportunity to experience three different countries and cultures in one semester was incredible.

Our adventure began in Spain. We toured Madrid and Toledo for a few days before settling for 5 weeks in Granada. This was my first time in a non-English speaking country, and considering I did not know Spanish, a struggled a little at the beginning. The other students and I would order random food items from menus because we could not read them and were too embarrassed to ask for help. Despite not knowing Spanish before this trip, my time in Spain helped me to learn the basic phrases to communicate day-to-day. I really enjoyed Spain for its relaxed culture. It seems that the Spanish people are not concerned with the “work, work, work” mentality that is so prominent in the US. This was refreshing and allowed us to see how much more there is to life. Through seeing multiple museums, a Flamenco show, and the Alhambra, we learned about Southern Spain’s history, religion, architecture, and culture.

Next, we traveled to Morocco where we visited 8 cities in 2 weeks. Morocco had every type of beautiful scenery you can imagine: desert, mountains, city centers, and more. We were able to have amazing guest lectures, tour the medinas, and visit the many shops in the cities — all while constantly being served mint tea! Additionally, hearing the Arabic language in Morocco is what inspired me to start Arabic classes the semester after this program.

India ended up being my favorite place on this program. There were many challenging aspects about this part of the trip that helped me grow as a person. For instance, we completed a five-day homestay in Ranikhet, India. Our host family spoke only Hindi, I did not know any Hindi, and my roommate only spoke a few basic words. Consequently, this required my roommate and me to find ways to connect with our host family without conversation. So, we bonded over simple everyday activities. For instance, one afternoon, our host mom took us to a Hindu temple. It was beautiful to experience culture and religion without any conversation occurring. Also, one day, my host mom told me in Hindi to fill a bucket of water. As I had no idea what she was saying, this exchange ended in an entertaining game of charades to figure out what she needed. From this homestay, I gained the perspective that people will always be able to relate to one another in some way and that it is incredibly interesting to see day-to-day life different than what I am used to. Another challenging part of this trip was completing a 5-day trek in the Himalayas. I have never gone backpacking before, and this trek showed me that I enjoy spending all day hiking outdoors with friends. Another interesting field trip in India was visiting the Navdanya seed bank. We learned about the sustainable farming practices here and viewed the seed bank. This demonstrated to us an aspect of human security that we learned about in our Human Security class.

Overall, this study abroad program was the most formative aspect of my time at Pitt because it opened me up to multiple cultures, people, and ideas. This program demonstrated to me that I have a strong interest in global studies, which is why I started pursuing the certificate after this experience.

Vienna Study Away

Vienna study away program in Vienna, Austria

May 2018

This study away program in Vienna was the final component of the class Vienna 1900 taught by Dr. Amy Colin. Throughout this course we discussed, studied, and presented on the important artists, authors, architects, musicians, and philosophers that played an important role for Vienna at the turn of the 20th century. In this course, we studied in depth what important figures contributed to Vienna. For instance, my final project for the course revolved around Koloman Moser’s life, his main artistic contributions, and why he was such an influential figure in Vienna at the turn of the century. This background in class was essential as it provided us with vast knowledge to enhance our trip to Vienna for a week where we saw artwork, buildings, and operas in real life. I was able to see Kolomon Moser’s artwork in person! I learned a lot from this program because the knowledge I gained from the course was reinforced through this immersive week in Vienna.

This study abroad experience enhanced my global studies concentration because I was able to see the cultural dynamics of Vienna at a critical period of time for that city. By learning about Vienna at the turn of the 20th century in the classroom, I learned how important this period of development was for the city in cultural terms. Furthermore, the trip to Vienna allowed me to see the radical changes in art, architecture, and thought in real life.

Although I have not studied German, I was able to pick up a few basic terms on this trip, such as “danke” (thank you) and “speisekarte” (menu). Additionally, we attended an opera (Die Zauberflöte) and and operetta (Die Fledermaus) that were preformed completely in German, but had English subtitles on a screen above the stage. This was very interesting to hear the German spoken, but then still be able to understand what was going on with the help of the English subtitles.

Overall, this trip to Vienna was an incredible experience due to the background we received in the classroom as well as through the shows we saw and the museums we visited.