Eid Mubarak! Happy Tabaski!

This week, Muslims across the world celebrated Eid-al-Adha, the festival of the sacrifice. Eid-al-Adha honors the Prophet Ibrahim’s unyielding faith, as demonstrated by his willingness to sacrifice his son for God. God then spared Ibraham’s son and slaughtered a sheep in his place. In honor of Ibraham, many Muslims sacrifice a sheep or goat for this holiday and distribute its meat to the poor. Eid-al-Adha is known by many names, such as Tabaski in West Africa.

Tulane students studying abroad in the Muslim world have had a unique opportunity to celebrate this holiday with locals in their host countries. Here are some of their stories:

“My Tabaski experience was definitely a highlight of my time abroad. In addition to being an amazing opportunity to learn about a different culture and religion, Tabaski also allowed me to achieve local celebrity. A few days before the holiday, I received a call from a man excitedly speaking in rapid-fire Wolof. Confused, I handed my phone to my host brother. He translated for me and informed me that I had won a goat in a raffle (I later realized I had unknowingly entered this raffle by purchasing a new phone). My entire host family went to the HLM Market in Dakar to pick up my goat, and I was henceforth known in my neighborhood as the Toubab (white person) who won the goat.” – Amanda Verdi, Senegal, Fall 2016

“Eid-al-Adha was easily the best part of my time in Ghana. I spent it in the 100% Muslim community of Larabanga in Northern Ghana, where complete strangers invited my friends and me to celebrate with them. We performed the traditional goat sacrifice, followed by a feast – it was incredible” – Rachel Robertson, Ghana, Fall 2016

The Tulane Office of Study Abroad program list includes many options across the Muslim world! Check out our website for more information or attend the Study Abroad Fair on October 18th from 2-5 to talk to students who have attended programs around the world. 

What holidays have you celebrated while abroad? Share your photos and stories with us – you may be featured in a future blog post!

Part IV of A Year in the Life of a Study Abroad Applicant: Getting Ready for the Study Abroad Fair

Hey Tulane! 

Fall break was SO relaxing for me, and I hope it was for you too. I managed to catch up on some homework, see family, experience cold weather (since it’s still summer here…) and make a plan for the study abroad fair. Elsewhere on the blog, the Office of Study Abroad put together some super-helpful tips about how to make the most of the study abroad fair. Hundreds of students attend the fair every year, so I want to make sure I stay focused while I’m there!

Last time I posted, I had just written down my list of programs that really meet what I’m looking for in a study abroad experience: Language & Cultural immersion, Courses in my Major, & located in Latin America. Some of the programs are direct enrollment – like ITAM in Mexico City and Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Quito, Ecuador. When I get to the fair, I’ll try to find out if there are students who have gone on those programs that I can talk to. Then, since the program in Havana, Cuba is actually run by Tulane, I will be able to meet with the Tulane faculty and staff that do research and programming there. The Cuba program will have its own table so I think there will be a lot of people to talk to.

Most of the programs I found, though, are run by program providers who will have representatives at the fair to talk to us about everything they offer. So, over fall break I spent a lot of time on the program provider websites: CIEE; IFSA-Butler; and Middlebury. Their websites are so comprehensive and gave me a good sense of the types of courses each offers and the universities that they are all affiliated with. ALL of these programs have one thing in common: everything is in Spanish! From coursework to housing to handling paperwork, I will be speaking Spanish all the time. This is probably one of the most important elements of my future study abroad program. Knowing that they all meet that criteria, though, I’m looking forward to the study abroad fair so I can talk to students about what it was like to actually live in all of these different cities and to take classes at the universities there.

It makes a lot of sense to talk to former students. It’s just like when I talk to high school juniors and seniors as a Green Wave Ambassador when they come to campus. They want to know what being a Tulanian is like from the perspective of someone who is living it! And why not? After all, finding the right place to spend four years is a big decision, and so is deciding where to spend an entire semester abroad. Talking to returned study abroad students is basically the same thing. I came up with a list of questions so I wouldn’t get sidetracked at the fair:

• What is the city like? Is it big and loud? How does it compare to New   Orleans
• What about the university? Do professors interact a lot with students? Could you understand their accents?
• How did you make friends? Did you join any clubs or student groups?
• How did you immerse yourself in the host country?
• Where did you travel to from that city? Was it easy to get around?
• Was there anything you wish you knew before you went?

I mostly think I’m ready and I have one more tip for those of you that are planning to attend! When you first get to the fair, you’ll receive a printed map showing where everyone is at all the different tables. So when I get that map, I’ll know exactly where to go!

Hope to see ya’ll on Wednesday and at all the other awesome International Education Week events happening all over campus!

How to Make the Most out of the Study Abroad Fair!

The annual Tulane Study Abroad fair is a great place to start your study abroad journey. The fair is a one-stop shop where you can come meet with representatives from Tulane's many program providers. In addition to learning about semester and academic year programs, Tulane students can speak to representatives from different Tulane departments that offer study abroad programs, like the Center for Public Service and the Stone Center for Latin American Studies. We also bring together staff from various on-campus units like the Office of Financial Aid, Academic Advising, Career Services and the A.B. Freeman School of Business.

You can even renew your passport, thanks to the booth staffed by the folks at the United States Postal Service (passport fees still apply; be sure to check out the requirements on the USPS website and bring the relevant documents!). 

So, how can you get the most out of the study abroad fair? 

The study abroad fair is the best time to get as much information as possible about the programs you think you might be interested in, as well as exploring other options you may not have considered. Take some time, if you can, to look at the Tulane-approved programs that are listed on the Office of Study Abroad Website. As you do, try to think of specific questions that can't be answered just by reading the websites of the different programs. Bring those questions to the fair where we'll have program staff and study abroad alumni who will have the insider's answers.

The fair is a pretty laid-back event meant to help students learn about their options. It's not necessarily the time to make a final decision about where to study abroad. Instead, it's a time to gather as much information as you can to help you when you are selecting the right program for you in the months that follow. 

One good piece of advice about preparing for the fair is to identify your study abroad goals. If you know your goals for studying abroad, then you can be more intentional about getting information at the fair itself. 

Some goals past Tulane students have had for studying abroad include: 

• Develop fluency in a foreign language;
• Learn about the culture of a new or different place;
• Make meaningful connections with people from a different country;
• Take major or minor courses to learn about a topic from a new perspective.

Once you have those goals narrowed down, you'll have a better idea of what kinds of questions to ask at the fair. For example, if your number one goal is to become fluent in Italian, then you can ask about the language level of students on each of the programs in Italy that are represented at the fair. The answers you get may help you determine which program best suits your needs.

Many students say that one of the best parts of the Study Abroad Fair is having the opportunity to meet with students who have already completed the program. They can offer an insider view, telling you about their accommodation experiences, academic culture and tips about the city where they studied. 

If at any point during the fair, you need some help or guidance, just stop by the Office of Study Abroad table! We'll be there to meet with students and help them figure out their Fair Game Plan. And then, after it's all over, we'll be posting tips on what to do with all of the information you gathered!

We hope to see you there on Wednesday, October 19 from 2-5 PM in the LBC Qatar Ballroom!

The photo for this year's study abroad fair was taken by Madeleine Nicholson, a Tulane student who studied abroad on the CIEE program in Legon, Ghana. 

A Year in the Life of a Study Abroad Applicant - Part III: Preparing for the Study Abroad Fair

Phew! Welcome back to my series on applying for study abroad! 

This week has been crazy! I’ve been wrapping up mid-terms and getting ready to head back home for Fall Break. In the office, we’ve been busy preparing for International Education Week which, for me, means making a LOT of flyers to advertise all the different events that are going to take place after we all come back to campus. Even with everything that I’ve been doing, I managed to find the time to meet with a study abroad advisor to help me understand all of my options for study abroad. I wanted to make sure that I knew what to look for and who to talk to when I get to the Study Abroad Fair next Wednesday!

Like I said in my previous post, I really wanted to figure out which programs I am qualified for so I know what my options are. I made an appointment with my advisor, Ghazi, just by going onto the study abroad website. You just click on his name and send him a message and even see all the times that he’s available. I filled out an advising application, too, it helped us a lot in our meeting. He was able to do a little research about some of the questions I had before we met, so we were able to make the most out of our thirty minutes. In the advising application, I made it clear that one of my main goals was to become fluent in Spanish, and that on top of fluency, I wanted to make sure I was taking Environmental Studies classes that could possibly count towards my major back at Tulane. If I could also take International Development or SISE courses (my minors), that would just be icing on the cake.

When I met with Ghazi (at the study abroad office right by Willow PJs), one of the first things we talked about was the importance of taking classes in Spanish alongside local students at the university. If fluency is my main goal, he said that being around native Spanish speakers as much as possible, using the language to take tests, listen to lectures, write papers and make friends, is the absolute best way to become fluent. For me, I think that means I will probably look at one of the programs that either lets me directly enroll at a university – like at the Universidad San Francisco de Quitoin Ecuador – or one of the program providers like CIEE in Valparaiso, Chile, where they offer a few classes in Spanish for American students but then help you directly enroll at the local university, too. I think programs like this help students who are a little unsure about taking all their classes at the foreign university because they can take one or two classes that are very similar to the Spanish classes we take at Tulane.

Once I had that figured out, I realized I had a problem – I still have a LOT of options for study abroad. I know, it’s a good problem to have! So, Ghazi and I brainstormed about how to narrow down my options even further so that I could decide where I should apply. I love a good list of action items!

Step 1: Make a list of the programs I should consider.

When I made the list, I knew:

•     The courses should be all in Spanish.
•     The program should be in Latin America ideally.

I made this list as soon as I left the study abroad office!

My options - I made this list as soon as I left the office

Step 2: Research the program websites.

Ghazi gave me some tips about how to look at the program websites…they are filled with lots of information, so he explained what exactly I should be looking for:

•         What courses are available? Both, at the study center run by the program and at the local university? I’ll be able to use this list when I go to talk to my major advisor…
•         What are the housing options that are available? We talked about the benefits of living with a host family (here’s a Tulane student’s blog about her host family) and so he encouraged me to look for student perspectives about the accommodations.
•         What are the start and end dates of the program? I hadn’t even considered the fact that universities in South America start their academic year in February and end in late November or early December. So, Ghazi encouraged me to think about what I plan to do over the summer before I go, because many of those programs begin in July instead of late August. If I need my summer free for an internship or job, I might need to look at the programs in Mexico or even Spain, instead.
•         What is the city like?! This question was probably the one I had thought about the least! But, Ghazi explained that I would be living in the city for 5 or 6 months, and so it would be important that I would be comfortable there… New Orleans is a relatively small city, so it would be a transition to go from a place like NOLA to a huge city like Quito or Buenos Aires! He encouraged me to read about city life in the places I was considering to get a good idea of what it would be like to actually live there.

Step 3: Talk to people!

Lastly, I need to go talk to as many people as I can who have some experience with these different programs!

• The Study Abroad Fair is on October 19. Representatives of all the different programs will be there so I will be sure to go and chat with them. And then, Tulane students who have already gone on the program will also be there, so they can give me the skinny on what it’s like for a student!
• Since many of the faculty members in the Spanish department have some experience in one or more of these places, I think I’ll talk to them, too, because they might have some insight.
• After I get an idea of all of the different programs and locations, and a list of classes I can take, then I’ll probably meet up with my major advisor to talk about the nitty gritty of not falling behind while I’m abroad.

Basically, meeting with a study abroad advisor helped me focus on my options and figure out what, exactly, I need to do over the next few months to select the best option for me! I’m going to spend some time over fall break perusing the websites and then, hit the study abroad fair running. Or, at least, with a list of questions…

Weekly Newsletter

Welcome to the Tulane Study Abroad Blog!

We hope that everyone is finished with their midterms, and getting ready for a fun and relaxing fall break. Luckily, you are all returning for the most exciting time of the year: International Education Week! Tulane’s Center for Global Education is proud to celebrate the internationalization and exchange efforts on our campus. This week’s blog is dedicated to providing information about all of the amazing events that are taking place from October 17-23 here at Tulane. Look below to find out more!

Monday, October 17:

Grant Showcase Luncheon: International Experiences

Stibbs Room 203
LBC
12:00-1:00 PM

Celebrate International Education Week by hearing from students who received funding for international projects, research and experiential learning.  Information on how to apply for funding will be provided, and lunch will be served.  RSVP at bit.ly/iew-grantlunch.

Sponsored by Co-curricular Programs and Cohort Programs. For more information about Newcomb-Tulane College grants visit tulane.edu/college/programs/grants.cfm or email donuts@tulane.edu.  

Link to the Facebook event here!

Global Cafe:
International Pecha Kucha

Pederson Lobby
LBC
3:00-5:00 PM

In honor of International Education Week we are holding this special event (during our Global Cafe) to give internationally-minded students the opportunity to share their stories with the Tulane community.   The theme will be “Global Connections”, and members of the international community will be sharing their stories of adapting to the States, stories from home, and highlights from their research and work here at Tulane.

What is Pecha Kucha?

Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat”, it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It’s a format that makes presentations concise and keeps things moving at a rapid pace. For more information, visit www.pechakucha.org.

Mindful Journey: Guided Meditation

Anna May Lounge, Caroline Richardson Hall, 2nd floor, 5:00-6:00 PM

Join us for a mindful journey to your favorite place on earth! Using guided meditation, we will spend the early evening traveling (in our minds) to far off lands, all while relaxing and practicing basic mindfulness techniques. No previous meditation experience necessary.

Tuesday, October 18:

An Evening with Francisco Goldman
Novelist & Scholar

Rogers Memorial Chapel
6:00-7:00 PM

An experienced and acute observer of a part of the world deeply influenced by the United States, Goldman will offer a global perspective on this year’s Forum Tulane theme: Power.

Professor Goldman, the author of 5 books, has taught at Columbia University, Brooklyn College, the Institute of New Journalism and many other institutions. He currently lives in Mexico City. Please visit his website for information.

Wednesday, October 19:

Study Abroad Fair

Qatar Ballroom
LBC
2:00-5:00 PM

Learn more about Tulane’s programs abroad, meet program representatives and Tulane study abroad alumni & professors, and find out about international volunteer and intern opportunities!

International Alumni Panel

Tidewater Building
1440 Canal St., Room 1206
5:00-7:00 PM

Join School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine International Alumni with OISS and Career Services for a panel discussion on the international student job search, followed by a brief reception. Don't miss this great opportunity to learn from and network with TUSPHTM international alumni.

Presidential Debate and Desserts with Dr. Brox

Nalty Commons
8:00-11:00 PM

Watch the debate and learn about the US Election process with Tulane Professor Brian Brox!

Link to the Facebook event here!

Facilitator Introduction - Brian Brox is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science. His research and teaching focus on American politics and political behavior. He has published research on campaigns & elections, political parties, voting behavior, and public opinion. Next semester he will be teaching an advanced seminar on campaigns & elections as well as a course on politics & literature. He also works with students as the advisor of the College Republicans, College Democrats, and Young Americans for Liberty.

Thursday, October 20:

Tulane Alumni Association
International Programs Reception

Bea Field Alumni House
6319 Willow Street
4:00-6:00 PM

Join us at the Bea Field Alumni House for refreshments, and chat to learn about the Tulane Alumni Association and their International Programs.

Friday, October 21:

Careers Abroad Panel

Cudd Hall, Room 203
9:30-11:00 AM

Join the Center for Global Education in a discussion about working abroad after college. Discuss the pros and cons, and learn about resources to get your job search started!

IEW Fridays at the Quad

LBC Quad
4:00-6:00 PM

This Friday at the Quad will feature food from La Cubana, and International Music from all around the world! Stop by to celebrate the end of a great week!

Saturday, October 22 and Sunday, October 23:

EAT - Experience American Tastes:

Sign up below to welcome our international students by hosting them for lunch or dinner at your home or dorm:

What is Experience American Tastes (EAT)? –

EAT provides Tulane's international students and scholars the opportunity to experience American culture and cuisine with a member of the Tulane community (faculty, staff, students, and alumni). If you want to enjoy the company of international guests, become a host, and share a meal with other international students and scholars on October 22nd and 23rd, sign up here!   After you sign up we will be giving you specific information about who you have been paired up with, information on dietary restrictions, and conversation tips for both you and your guest!

Eat International on Campus:

To celebrate International Education Week, Bruff Commons and 1834 Club will be serving international food from different countries around the world. Here’s the schedule for this week:

Monday: Experience the Cuisine of Brazil

Bruff Commons: 11:00 AM-2:00 PM

1834 Club: 11:30-AM-2:00 PM

Tuesday: Experience the Cuisine of New Zealand

Bruff Commons: 11:00 AM-2:00 PM

1834 Club: 11:30-AM-2:00 PM

Wednesday: Experience the Cuisine of Greece

Bruff Commons: 5:00 PM-10:00 PM

1834 Club: 11:30-AM-2:00 PM

Thursday: Experience the Cuisine of Nicaragua

Bruff Commons: 11:00 AM-2:00 PM

1834 Club: 11:30-AM-2:00 PM

Friday: Experience the Cuisine of Singapore

Bruff Commons: 5:00 PM-10:00 PM

1834 Club: 11:30-AM-2:00 PM

Follow Tulane Study Abroad’s Instagram and Facebook for more updates!