Augustana College

Four professors and nearly 40 Augustana students will leave in early March to spend 10 weeks studying in the West African countries of Ghana and Senegal. The two countries, both important regional and continental leaders, were chosen for the global learning experience because of their diverse culture, linguistic and topographical contrasts. The term begins with six weeks in the country of Ghana, where the group will visit the capital city of Accra, as well as Kumasi and Cape Coast. The final four weeks will be in Dakar and St. Louis in Senegal. Classes will be held four days a week and cover the topics of African history, literature, music and art through reading, assignments, guest lectures and field trips. Students will also volunteer at a school and orphanage, spend a weekend with a host family and visit and attend classes at local universities. From your area, this includes:

Nineteen adventurous students from Augustana College will make a cross-country trek on January 3 ending in Holden Village in the Cascade Mountains. The students and three faculty members will spend five weeks living and studying in Holden, a tight-knit mountain community with no phones, television or roads connecting to the outside world. The trip begins with a two-day journey on Amtrak, a three-hour ferry ride and a slow 10-mile bus ride up mountain switchbacks. "I became really interested in the trip when I found out we would be taking a cross-country train ride to get to the village," said Andrew Ehrhardt, a junior history education major from Schaumburg, Ill. "To me, that is an adventure in and of itself." At Holden, students will take two English classes, a theater class, and a class on the history of Holden. They can also take cross-country skiing lessons and a course in the art of letter-writing. Without phones or email, the students will depend on postcards and letters to stay in touch with family and friends back home. "There are no typical days at Holden," said Dr. Jan Keessen, one of the English professors who will be teaching on-site. Holden Village attracts everyone from scholars to musicians to artists to ecologists, who bring their skills to contribute to the community. When students are not in class, they might take a sleigh ride, weave a basket, power a dishwasher with a bicycle, discuss religion, listen to a harmonica player, spin yarn or go sledding. "Holden is a risky place for anyone who is frightened by spontaneity or afraid to take a chance on learning creatively, with passion and courage," Keessen added. English professor Dr. Paul Olsen and theater professor Dr. Melissa McBain will also teach in Holden. Olsen has served on the Holden board of directors for 12 years, has taught summer courses in Holden since 1987 and is currently the summer teaching staff coordinator. McBain is also eager to return to Holden. "What I experienced my first summer in Holden was magical and inspiring," she said. "Over the course of one day I led a sunrise devotional, taught a playwriting class, attended exciting discussions, performed scenes from my play-in-progress and ended the day singing with new friends." Many students were attracted to the program because of the variety of people and activities in Holden. "I think it will be rejuvenating to wake up each morning away from the routine life of a student, with endless possibilities of adventure waiting right outside my door," said Ehrhardt. The students will return to Augustana on February 6. From your area, participating students include:

Thirty-one Augustana students will spend the first two months of 2010 studying and working as interns in Sydney, Australia. The international study program known as "Augustana in Australia" places students in career-relevant positions in Sydney and immerses them in Australian culture. The students take a five-week on-campus internship seminar before leaving for Australia on January first. In Australia, students work four days a week for seven weeks at their internship site and use the remaining time to explore Australia. From your area, participating students include:

Fifty-nine Augustana students are heading back to school over 3,000 miles away for a 10 week international studies program in Latin America next week. The program, established at the college over thirty years ago, immerses students in Latin American culture as they live and study in Ecuador, Peru and Mexico. The program begins in late August in Cuenca, Ecuador, where students will spend four weeks living with host families and studying at the Center for Inter-American Studies. They will then take a three-week tour of Lima and Cusco in Peru and five-day excursions to the rainforest and Machu Picchu, the famous sacred city of the Incans. Their trip will end with four weeks in Cuernavaca, Mexico, where the students will again live with host families. The students represent a broad range of academic majors, and many have little or no Spanish-speaking experience. "The Latin America term is really not a program geared towards Spanish majors," said Dr. Allen Bertsche, chair of the Spanish department and the program's director. "It is a program designed to increase cultural and global awareness among all majors at Augustana." During the first four weeks, international professors will teach Spanish courses at all levels from introductory through advanced alongside courses taught by Augustana faculty. Junior Emma Fane, of Berkeley, California is one of the many students with a limited Spanish background. Fane is studying French and communication sciences and disorders with a psychology minor. She admits she is nervous about communicating with her host family, but is also excited for the wide array of opportunities she will have on the trip. "I can hardly wait to live with my two different host families, go to markets, explore Machu Picchu, and even hike through the jungle," she said. Liz Hinds, a junior pre-med and biochemistry major with a Spanish minor from Monticello, Illinois, is similarly excited. "I've literally been planning my classes around this trip since my freshman year," Hinds said. Hinds is from a Puerto Rican family and has been taking Spanish her whole life, so she looks forward to experiencing the culture first hand. "When people ask me about this term, most are confused and wonder if I'm taking time off from my major. Why else would someone majoring in pre-med and biochemistry go to Latin America? But I graduate in '11 and this might be the last chance I get to travel to these amazing countries and learn so much about them while I'm there." The students will take up to four courses in Spanish, biology, literature, history, art, or political science. All of the courses are specifically designed to integrate classroom learning and cultural experiences. For instance, students in the "Art in Americas" course will study native arts in Latin America and then travel to sites where these artistic styles are produced and displayed. All students will also participate in a cultural seminar that uses sites, speakers and excursions that go beyond the usual "tourist" experience. Dr. Bertsche recognizes the unique academic opportunity that the program gives students. "When students go on Latin American term, they are asked to combine the perspectives, attitudes, strategies and knowledge of artists, scientists, writers, social scientists and historians to try to decipher the experiences they have as part of the trip. Our hope is that students develop a more nuanced understanding of the world, their home culture, and their own background and values. Many a student has returned from the trip with a new perspective on the United States as much as on Latin America." Bertsche is one of several Augustana faculty members who will teach a course during the trip. Other faculty include art professor Ms. Rowen Schussheim-Anderson, environmental studies and biology professor Dr. Bohdan Dziadyk, political science professor Dr. Mariano Magalhaes and history professor Dr. Molly Todd. The students and professors will return to the United States at the end of November. Four of the students will be keeping a blog of their adventures on Augustana's Globologs. To read more about their trip, log-on to http://www.augustana.edu/blogs/international. From your area, participating students include:

Wittenberg, Germany, the hometown of famous religious reformer Martin Luther and center of the Lutheran reformation, will be the classroom this fall for 13 advanced Augustana College German students and their professor. The Augustana German department is adding this new two-month international program to its established international study terms to offer students direct immersion in German language and culture by staying with a host family. Living with a host family will quickly improve the students' language skills. Although all the students are basically proficient in German, they know they can learn a great deal from native German speakers. "When you have to mime and explain things to learn a word, you don't easily forget it!," said junior Kevin Collins. Dr. Kim Vivian, who has been teaching German at Augustana for 20 years, is excited the college can offer this program to students. "We hope the students will form friendships with the German locals, which helps them better understand German culture, and thereby their own culture," said Vivian. The students will take classes four days a week through the Institute of German Language and Culture at the University of Halle-Wittenberg. In addition to German history and literature courses, they can take a class on Martin Luther, the founder of the Lutheran church, or Lucas Cranach, the influential Reformation artist. All the courses will be taught entirely in German. Exploring the rich history of the Lutheran religion will be a highlight for students like senior Michelle Ruf, who has been a lifetime Lutheran. "I am looking forward to visiting different historical sites connected to Luther while I'm on the trip and attending church services at Luther's church. We will also take a history class about Luther, so it will be interesting to learn more about Luther from the perspective of a German professor," she said. The students plan to travel outside of Wittenberg to other parts of Germany and Europe on their three-day weekends. The group will hike in the scenic Bavarian Forest take a day trip to Berlin and visit the site of Buchenwald concentration camp in Weimar. Students also plan to visit places such as Munich, Prague, Vienna and Poland. Dr. Vivian vividly remembers his own junior year in Germany, and he expects this trip will be as pivotal in his students' lives and education. "No study of a foreign language is complete without some time spent in the native country," he says. From your area, students traveling to Wittenberg include:

Five Augustana Spanish majors are getting a full-time lesson in speaking Spanish during a month-long international study opportunity in Salamanca, Spain, which is located about 130 miles west of Madrid. The students participating in the four-week program are immersed in Spanish language and culture by taking classes at a Spanish university and spending time with the locals, who are historically known to speak the purest form of Spanish in the world. On Monday-Thursday, the students take a morning class at Centro Universitario Marista and spend the remainder of the day sightseeing, shopping and spending time in Salamanca's famous Plaza Mayor, which is within walking distance from the university where they are staying. Their three-day weekends are free for more extensive traveling and sightseeing throughout Spain. Dr. Ana Borderia-Garcia, the faculty advisor for the trip and a native of Valencia, Spain, encourages her students to speak only in Spanish on the trip. "They are eager to experience as much of the language and culture as they can," she said. Christine Hedlin, an Augustana junior with a double major in Spanish and English, agreed with Borderia-Garcia. "When we converse with native Spanish-speakers, we pick up on subtleties of Spanish culture and language that we couldn't necessarily learn from our textbooks. We want to absorb as much of the language as possible, so if a native speaks to us in English, we politely ask them to speak to us in Spanish instead." Salamanca plays an important role in the history of the Spanish language. The first Spanish grammar book was written in the city, and many inhabitants of Salamanca continue to speak formal Castilian Spanish, which is known as the purest form of Spanish in the world. For this reason, Salamanca draws Spanish students around the world looking to refine their language skills and experience Spanish culture. The students will also visit Paris and Madrid before returning to the United States on July 28. From your area, participating students include:

Nearly 40 Augustana students will spend spring term studying music, psychology and science in Vienna, Austria as part of the college-sponsored international study experience. The 2009 trip includes three integrated classes that will explore various aspects of Viennese and Austrian culture during the last two centuries, and 70 site visits to historic places in several countries. Augustana professors Dr. Daniel Culver, music, Dr. Pamela Trotter, chemistry, and Dr. William Coker, psychology, will focus their classes around the concept of dream and reality through the eyes of many Austria natives such as classical composer Wolfgang Mozart, psychiatrist Sigmund Freud and the father of genetics Gregor Mendel. "We have a wide variety of student majors going on the trip," said Dr. Culver. "This trip will be a very unique experience for the students and they'll see how as U.S. citizen they fit into the world." Students will live and attend classes at the Kolpinghaus Wien Zentral, which is located in the downtown area of Vienna. They will make weekend visits to Budapest, Hungary; Prague, Czech Republic; and Krakow, Poland. They will see opera performances, listen to a rehearsal of the Vienna Philharmonic, and tour famous churches like Stephansdom. Sophomore Corynn Hanson of Oregon, Wisconsin said this will be her first time to Europe, though she has experienced traveling outside the United States. "I think this trip will give me perspective and help me grow more as a person...in the sense that I have seen part of the world and experienced a different part of the world. I think the experience... will give me an edge for employment and graduate school." To prepare for the spring term in Vienna, students were required to take a three-month seminar at Augustana. The class included language lessons, the history of Vienna, traveling skills. The term ends on May 16. To talk with a student in Vienna, contact Kamy Beattie at (309) 794-7721 or at kamybeattie@augustana.edu. You can also read about their experiences by logging onto www.augustana.edu/blogs/international/ From you area, this includes:

A group of nearly 30 Augustana students will spend the next four weeks on a first-ever Augustana international study experience in Vietnam. The South Asian country will serve as the backdrop to an international learning encounter in which students will take three Vietnamese culture-focused courses, participate in a service-learning project and travel. The inaugural trip idea was developed and proposed by business administration department chair and associate professor Ann Ericson, who taught in Vietnam during the summer of 2007 and has visited the country several times. Along with Ericson, Augustana professors David Crowe (English), Mariano Magalhaes, (political science) are accompanying the students and will each teach one course Vietnam. The three courses will serve as a learning community, bringing together knowledge of the country's distinctive history from three different areas of study, as well as providing context for the places in Vietnam where the students will live and visit. Before leaving Augustana, the students took part in a one-credit preparatory seminar to expand their knowledge of Vietnamese culture, history and geography, and to learn expectations for interpersonal interactions while in Vietnam. Crowe, who will teach a Vietnam War literature course while abroad, has visited Vietnam in the past, and is optimistic about the trip. "Already we've seen our students gaining what we want them to gain-they're very interested in the history of Vietnam, the importance of the war for both of our countries, and Vietnam's current struggles politically and economically. ... It's amazing how enterprising and friendly the Vietnamese are, and how much they want to show us their beautiful country," he said. The students will also take part in a service-learning project while abroad, spending a day interacting and playing with local daycare and primary school children, aged 3-12, in the Phu Tho Province. The Augustana group plans to purchase toys, sports equipment and art supplies for the Vietnamese children. From your area, this includes:

Rock Island, Ill. -Nearly 30 Augustana students will spend the next three months working as interns in Sydney, Australia at various businesses to gain valuable job-related experience. The international study program known as "Augustralia term" matches students in a variety of jobs in Sydney to work independently for seven weeks and immerse them in the new culture. The term begins with a five-week on-campus internship seminar that includes two classes detailing Australian culture and intercultural communication. During the remaining seven-weeks, students intern full-time in four-days and use the remaining time to explore Australia. The experience offers Augustana students a chance to apply what they have learned in the classroom and reflect on how it will benefit them in a future job or graduate school. "This is a very independent program. The students travel together with no faculty from Augustana," said Karen Petersen, business administration and faculty advisor to the program. Students do receive on-side supervision by their internship coordinator, the Centers for Academic Programs Abroad (www.capa.org) and Augustana faculty or staff visit students about half-way through the internship. Students stay at a five-star serviced apartment complex in the Moore Park/Waterloo precinct of Sydney along with Australian and other international students. The city of Sydney is the largest metropolitan area in Australia and is located on southeastern coast. (www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/). "The students will tour the beautiful Blue Mountains, a short drive outside of Sydney as well as the Sydney Opera House, museums, markets, beaches, the Olympic stadium, and then travel to other areas in Australia. This would include Cairns, where they can snorkel or dive the Great Barrier Reef; Melbourne, and Darwin. They may travel to New Zealand for spring break," said Petersen. Students return home March 7. For additional information contact Kamy Beattie at 309-794-7721 or kamybeattie@augustana.edu. You can also read about the experiences by logging onto www.augustana.edu/blogs/international/ for blog postings from four Augustana students. From your area, this includes: