This post comes from Language Commons Assistant and guest author Dom Giovanniello, recent UVA grad. He spent the 2016-17 academic year studying Arabic in Amman, Jordan.
The beautiful thing about study abroad is that everything is an adventure.
Whether it’s taking a taxi, making a friend, or even just sitting down at a café, every mundane moment represents an exciting learning opportunity or challenge. To be sure, studying abroad can be exhausting, and you’ll inevitably long for the comforts and predictability of home, but you’ll also miss the constant excitement that being abroad provides.
When people talk about study abroad they tend to mention culture shock, maximizing your experience and learning the language. And while there is some discussion of returning home, no one really talks about how to maintain and build off of what you’ve learned once you do get back.
Last year, I spent two semesters studying Arabic in Amman, Jordan with CET Academic Programs. It’s been almost a year since I returned from Jordan, and although I’ll always have the memories I made there, maintaining the language skills I developed requires a lot of effort.
Going from being immersed in a foreign culture and constantly speaking another language every day to sitting in class was a huge struggle for me. I found classroom language learning unstimulating and unsatisfying, and I realized that my goals had completely changed. I’ve never wanted to be a professor or specialize in literature, and after using colloquial Arabic in everyday life, studying Arabic in class left me wanting. That’s not to say that UVA’s program isn’t good (it’s fantastic), it’s just that I missed the excitement of studying abroad. At the same time, I found that some of my other classes on the Middle East weren’t as satisfying either. No matter how good the professor and how engaging the material, a classroom can’t compare to the real thing.
In many ways, it’s been incredibly frustrating – dedicating a year to studying a language and then not being able to use it in the way that I want and had grown used to. I’ve had to find new ways to keep my language skills from declining and to experience the same excitement that I always felt studying Arabic. That being said, I wouldn’t trade my study abroad experience for anything. I made so many new friends, learned a ton – not only about Jordan, but also about myself and my own culture – and grew as a person. Studying abroad opened up so many doors for me, both academically and career-wise, and it gave me a newfound appreciation for everything that I have. It inspired me to pursue a law degree. I hope to use that, along with my Arabic skills, to positively impact U.S. foreign policy and to help restore the United States’ reputation and moral standing. And although it may be over (at least for now), and my Arabic may be getting rusty, the impact of my study abroad experience will never end.