Issue date: 9/11/08 Section: Opinions

Our View
Situation:	Eastern held its Study Abroad fair on Wednesday for students interested in completing coursework over seas.
Stance:	The program is understandably highly touted by Eastern President Bill Perry, and students should consider studying abroad.

Tour the Pyramids of Gizma in Egypt.

See the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Check out the Leaning Tower of Piza in Italy.

Sightseeing is just one of the benefits of studying abroad. Whether it's the fall, spring or summer semester, studying abroad can be beneficial.

Eastern President Bill Perry has put the study abroad program among the university's best of class accomplishments, and if the program is one of the best in the country then students should consider potential opportunities that could change lives.

More than 300 Eastern students studied abroad during the last academic year, and despite the rising challenges of the U.S. dollar, this was the highest number of Eastern students studying abroad since the 2001-02 academic year.

At Wednesday's Study Abroad fair in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union, students had the chance to get informed about programs offered overseas.

Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea, highlights the partner program this year.

Sogang University and Eastern will provide a scholarship for a student as part of the program.

The scholarship would waive the student's tuition and the student's only extra expenses would be housing and living expenses.

Although studying abroad can be more expensive, the cultural values will last a lifetime.

Other partner programs available for students include studying at the University of Winchester in England, the Culinary Institute of Florence and Harlaxton College in England.

Students can go pretty much anywhere in the world as long as the programs are connected through an Eastern exchange. And one can check if the courses correspond by going to the study abroad Web site.

As far as cultural experiences, one can feel what it is like to be an American studying in a foreign country. It is a unique experience and besides learning about other cultures, other cultures can learn about ours and maybe have a better understanding of America.

While studying abroad, you can also form bonds with the people you meet.

There is a lot of paperwork, of course, including immunization records and transcripts, but once you go through the red tape and passports, and land in the country safely, let the learning and sightseeing begin.

Adjusting to the culture is an experience, and feeling homesick is natural. But the understanding and problem solving will be difficult, but that's a part of the challenges involved with being an adult in college.

While Eastern has many hands-on learning opportunities on campus, such as involvement with student organizations, getting internships and admission into undergraduate research programs, studying abroad is certainly not a bad option to consider.

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