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Morocco ... morning, day and night

Of the four Bloomsburg University faculty-led study abroad trips this summer, the longest is Fez, Morocco. Ten students with Yahya Laayouni, of the Departments of Languages and Cultures, are spending four weeks studying in an intensive, fast-paced Arabic program while exploring the dynamic terrain of this Northern African country that features desert, mountains and beaches.

Culturally, the group will explore imperial cities of Meknes and Volubilis while living with host families during their stay abroad. Exploring the modern and medieval architecture of Fez is also on the agenda.

Pictured — pictures are of the countryside right outside of Fez on a long walk home. There's a soccer field, Batha (bat-ha) sqaure near where we are staying, a semi-traditional Moroccan breakfast and pictures of the institute.

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A brand new adventure for EGGS students

Of the four Bloomsburg University faculty-led study abroad trips this summer, new this year is Norway.

A small group of eight students led by Ben Franek and Laura Mock, of the Department of Environmental, Geographical and Geological Sciences, are spending three weeks exploring the physical and cultural landscapes of Norway. Among the planned experiences include seeing the midnight sun, the majesty of Norway’s fjords and Viking artifacts like a 1,000-year-old ship.

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Sights, sounds and culture of Morocco

Of the four Bloomsburg University faculty-led study abroad trips this summer, the longest is Fez, Morocco. Ten students with Yahya Laayouni, of the Departments of Languages and Cultures, are spending four weeks studying in an intensive, fast-paced Arabic program while exploring the dynamic terrain of this Northern African country that features desert, mountains and beaches.

Culturally, the group will explore imperial cities of Meknes and Volubilis while living with host families during their stay abroad. Exploring the modern and medieval architecture of Fez is also on the agenda.

Pictured — Mohammed V airport in Casablanca, a road into Fez, a fountain in the Ville Nouvelle of Fez, the new city, a flower on the walls of the American Language Center, a street on the way to the Center, inside of a cafe down the street from the Center, a menu from the cafe, the view from the roof of our honesty, and the courtyard of the center.

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Rachel Cimera in Beijing, China

I arrived in China February 10th. I got to see many interesting sights while observing many differences between American and Chinese culture. For starters, pedestrians do not have the right away when crossing the street, so it is necessary to pay attention to your surroundings while walking around with vehicles passing by. Instead of having a separate sheet from a quilt, they have what is called a 被子 beizi (quilt) inside of a 被罩 beizhao (bag shaped quilt cover zipper sheet). The cuisine is naturally different of course along with many different types of vegetables！For example, some vegetables I have seen are 藕 ou (Lotus root), 莴笋 wosun (asparagus lettuce), 鱼腥草 yuxingcao (houttuynia cordata), 冬瓜 donggua (white gourd), 萝卜 luobo (a type of raddish), and 豆芽 douya (bean sprout). Morning markets are also an occurrence in China as well!

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Winter Service Trip Broadens Student’s Perspective

Marissa Shelhamer is planning to soon study abroad in Ireland but got a quick taste of international travel this winter — a trip that came with an added reward.

Shelhamer, a sophomore mathematics major, spent a week in Honduras volunteering with Bloomsburg University’s Students Helping Honduras, an organization working to change the lives of Honduran families through trying to end extreme poverty and violence.

“This trip benefited me as an individual,” says Shelhamer, adding she walked away from the experience with a high sense of gratitude. “The entire trip showed me how fortunate I am to have a safe, protected bed at night with a loving family who never had to worry about having enough food or clean water.”

A luxury that may be taken for granted in the United States but not in Honduras, according to Shelhamer, is education. The opportunity for the Honduran children to go to school is a privilege, she says.

In addition, Shelhamer met several influential people during her volunteer work.

“I think getting to know some of the locals has made realize how many incredible people are on this planet,” says Shelhammer, adding they worked with a man named Eugenio who donated part of his land in order for a school to be built. “The opportunity for his grandchildren to go to school was priceless. His smile and his eyes said more than his words ever could.”

The winter break experience sparked even more excitement for Shelhamer to study abroad. It also enabled her passion for helping others and the many things she appreciates about her life.

“After spending a week down there in a complete different culture and living within their village, and I am even more excited to study abroad,” Shelhamer said. “It allowed me to see how little others can have and how they make the most of it. Being exposed to other cultures has allowed me to see things from a whole different perspective.”

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In 2011, Shyer Amin won a scholarship from the Department of State to give him the opportunity to live in the United States for a year in high school, this would go on to make the greatest impact on his life than he could’ve ever imagined.

Amin is from the very populated city of Dhaka which is the capital of Bangladesh. Upon receiving the scholarship, he was placed in Hanover, PA to live with a host family as he acted as a youth ambassador. During his time in the U.S., he grew very close to his host family and fell in love with the area and knew he wanted to come back to continue his education.

“I applied to many state schools, but I waited until I got into Bloomsburg University,” says Amin “after researching some more and learning about the school of business here, my decision was easy.”

Once Amin arrived in Bloomsburg, he never imagined how quickly he would feel at home at a place so different from his norm. His host family was just the first group of people in America to create a friendly environment, but Bloomsburg soon did the same for Amin.

“I did not expect to find friends and professors who would become family to me,” says Amin “starting from the shuttle drivers to the janitors, everyone has helped me find my home here at Bloomsburg.”

Involvement has been key to making friendships and finding his way on campus. Amin is president of the Bloomsburg University Model United Nations, head delegate in Model Arab League, president of the International Student Association and a member of Husky Ambassadors. All of these positions are impressive and even more so that Amin is only a Junior.

As for what he loves off campus? Amin is a huge movie fanatic and his favorites include Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption and Interstellar. And like every other loyal Bloomsburg student, Amin loves Tri Pi for their pretzelinis, his favorite being chicken bacon ranch!

If you ever want to get to know Amin more (as everyone should), you can find him in the Andruss Library Starbucks, drinking his pike roast coffee and hanging with friends. Amin also makes a point that it is the people you surround yourself with that makes all the difference.

Amin says, “I do not think it was me that made Bloomsburg my home away from home, it was the people here that made it my home.”

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DekeiZiTV7U)

There are so many organizations in the Bloomsburg community for you to offer your services and that list is just the start!! So get into the holiday season by giving back to others.

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Nursing isn’t the easiest of majors — particularly when English isn’t your first language — but that hasn’t stopped Chen Shi from pursuing her passion.

Shi, a native of Shandong, China, is a sophomore nursing major. Technically, she should be a junior, but due to some language barrier between Shi and her patients, she is choosing to graduate a year later to better her experience. So far, her hands-on experience in the hospitals have been difficult but very rewarding.

“I think the hardest part about clinical is that I can't understand the patient's words,” Shi says. “For elderly patients, it is hard to understand their pronunciation. Sometimes they will use slang, that I have never learned, so it is really hard to get the point of what they mean.”

On the other hand, working with patients is an amazing experience for Shi. As she works with them, they also get the chance to learn and hear from her.

“Patients will ask where I come from, and they will show interest about my culture,” Shi says.

Many people at BU have showed interest in learning more about Shi’s culture and this has really made her feel at home. English is her second language and still is something she is working on, so she appreciates the help whenever she makes mistakes. In turn, Shi shares her culture with others and sees that as a win-win for those who are interested in learning more.

Shi expresses how much she loves the little town of Bloomsburg. As a quiet student herself, she prefers the intimate study environment, quaint area, and friendly people that fill the campus. Her fellow nursing classmates truly make her time here so memorable because they are all going through the same things, but still are so patient towards Shi as she learns and speaks English.

There are still cultural differences that she has had to get adjusted to.

“The biggest cultural difference, which I call ‘American free style’, is how we (students) act in the classroom,” Shi says. “In America, people have more conversations during class and are given more freedom to study in class time.”

In China, she says they hold their professor at a very high status which in turn makes the classroom environment very strict. Shi was not used to American discussion style and always stayed quiet. In her one class, the professor thought she did not understand the material and worried about her, but Shi admitted to simply just listening and absorbing the information as that’s what she was used to.

— Audra Ortiz, communication studies major

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International Education Week is coming to campus, featuring a number of events that will cultivate the minds of students on international competency. The week-long celebration is sponsored by the Office of Global and Multicultural Education and runs from Nov. 14 to 18 at several locations offering a variety of activities.

Monday, Nov. 14, 5 to 6 p.m. in 004 SSC — Workshop: “How to Effectively Market your International Experience to Employers”, offered by the CPDCE Center and includes refreshments.

Tuesday, Nov. 15, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Centennial 218 — Film Screening: “Crossing Borders”, designed to heighten students’ awareness of hidden preconceptions, support development of intercultural empathy and critical thinking skills, and initiating dialogue between students of different cultures. Discussion will follow with Professor Yahya Laayouni.

Wednesday, Nov. 16, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in 236 SSC — “Study Abroad Open House”, discover, explore, experience with the Office of Global and Multicultural Education and includes refreshments.

Thursday, Nov. 17, 6 to 8 p.m. in KUB Multipurpose 345B — “Tea & Coffee Traditions from Around the World”, International student presentations with teas, coffees and desserts.

Friday, Nov. 18, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in CEH Dance Studio — “International Folk Dance”, join in and learn folk dance from students; no partners are needed.

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#Repost @iesabroad with @repostapp ・・・ Wise words from our President and CEO, Dr. Mary M. Dwyer. Read the rest of her piece with the link in our bio. #ElectionDay #studyabroad

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The ZIPD Conference is a coveted event every year for students of all majors and the BU alumni who make the trek back to the campus on the hill. For Donald Ganghenbaugh, Richard Wisniewski, Bob Moore, and Juli Miller, it is one of their favorite trips to make. Each of these alumni are head executives of global businesses and have tracked more airline miles than you could imagine.

Working in global business, is no easy feat and the four presenters at the Global Business session quickly made this clear. The over lying theme for the presentation was, patience.

“In global business you need patience and understanding,” said Ganghenbaugh, “there are three different “now’s” in global business. Now, just now and now now.”

There are countless cultures that make up the world and if your company works internationally, you need to understand that not all customers operate the same as the United States. Understanding which culture uses what kind of “now” is crucial to success and making a deal. Time is a huge cultural difference amongst countries, and with language barriers and different time zones, there are going to be challenges in communication.

Among most recent years, technology has been a big factor in helping break down those barriers and making communication easier. Even though technology makes contact more accessible, it has lessened the opportunity for face-to-face communication. Miller, who is Vice-President and Global Leader at Johnson & Johnson, uses Global Connect which is a video conferencing technology for interviewing, meetings, conferences and more.

“Technology will change global business,” said Miller, “but some cultures do need face-to-face communication with eye to eye contact and a firm handshake.”

International customers need to see commitment, be entertained and shown that they are your number one priority or they will not agree to doing business. Technology makes that personalized communication difficult, but is still possible nonetheless with proper training and huge amounts of patience from both parties.

“Global business is not for everyone”, said Miller, “take on a study abroad experience to show if you like working globally or not.”

Miller interned at Walt Disney World and lived within a community that was made up of people from all over the world. Having an experience that is out of your comfort zone, opens your eyes to a new global perspective. Due to cultural differences, you are not always on the same page, so global business is all about having patience to get people to do something they don’t want to do.

Along the lines of pushing the limits to getting people to do something, each of the four presenters stressed that you need to uphold ethical standards in global business. Obviously, everyone loves to make money, but you need to keep your reputation afloat. Just because it isn’t illegal, doesn’t mean it’s ethical.

The only way to truly understand and practice these global ethical standards is to get out there yourself and see if traveling the world is right for you. Study abroad gives you that experience and that is something Bloomsburg offers for many different programs. While taking it a step further and making traveling into a career may sound like a lot of work, these BU alumni have created successful businesses and a lifetime filled with relationships that reach across the world.

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Trevi Fountain - Rome - Italy (by Chris Hearne)

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Mariam Sarkessian gives you an inside look of her year abroad in France!

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When Denis Ikejiri moved to America to continue his education, he knew it would be a huge adjustment, but one thing wouldn’t change — his passion for tennis.

Ikejiri was recruited to play tennis for Bloomsburg University in the fall of 2013. Making the decision to play tennis here has made his life at Bloomsburg better than he could ever imagine.

Ikejiri is from Santana de Parnaiba, Brazil and is one of seven international students on the tennis team. Being surrounded by so many students who are in the same boat as him, has allowed him to create strong friendships with his teammates on and off the tennis courts.

“Tennis has really helped me assimilate into the culture,” Ikejiri says. “I think that it was much easier to make friends in the U.S. because I played tennis.”

The sport gave him the opportunity to contribute to the community, travel to different places and meet people he would have never met otherwise. Ikejiri is also a member of SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee), Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma.

Since he is so involved in all of these organizations, assimilating into American culture has been an easy transition.

Tennis is not the only reason Ikejiri decided on BU, the business program offered on campus also caught his attention. Ikejiri is a senior and will graduate this Fall 2016 with a major in business management and a minor in information and technology management.

He recently had the opportunity to attend the Career Experience Boot Camp at Bloomsburg to meet professionals in his field.

“I gained valuable knowledge because of the workshops,” Ikejiri says. “Most importantly, made great connections with professionals from different areas of business.”

BU has become a second home for Ikejiri, so much so that he has applied for OPT (Optional Practical Training). OPT is a temporary employment that is directly related to a student’s field of study. An eligible student can apply to receive up to a year of OPT employment before or after completing their academic studies.

“I am planning to get some work experience in the U.S. after I graduate and after that, go back to Brazil,” Ikejiri says.

Enjoying the rec center, playing pool on campus, and going out for dinner in the downtown restaurants are just a few other things that make Bloomsburg feel like home. And tennis has made Denis’s two worlds not seem so far apart, as the sport doesn’t change around the world.

— Audra Ortiz, communication studies major

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Pictures Are Worth A Thousand Words

It is no secret that Nicole Featherman’s time in Strasbourg, France has been anything less than breath-taking. Her pictures are full of churches, gorgeous landscapes and tasty treats that only give us a glimpse of what is like to live in France for a semester. With so many different programs to choose from, why did Nicole pick Strasbourg, France?

“I was impressed with the fact that the EM Strasbourg Business School is one of 9 business schools in the world”, says Featherman, “the only one in France to have been accredited by the AACSB. This means that the courses offered meet the excellence requirements of higher education in management.”

Attending a school with this much credibility is amazing and extremely helpful as Featherman is a Business Management major and hopes to have a job in the field of international management or business relations. Studying business in another country as allowed Featherman to study the relationships between countries in the European Union and their history of how they came together.

Featherman participated in an Instagram Takeover on the Office of Global Education’s Instagram page and blew us away with the sights she was seeing. On a few of them she was able to give a little background of them to explain why they stood out to her.

This picture many not be from France, but this view is amazing! Featherman said this was the view from their hostile they stayed at while in Interlaken, Switzerland and she was blown away by the how cheap the price was to stay there for the night.

Above is Featherman paragliding over the beautiful city of Interlaken. She shares that the views were incredible and you’re in the air for about 20 minutes just strapped in and flying through the air.

“When I was researching the school, I fell in love with how it looked”, explains Featherman, “the Alsatian countryside looked so beautiful with its medieval style houses and scenic canals.”

Her research proved to be true as you see below, that is the Cathedral Notre-Dam de Strasbourg. It is considered one of the finest architectural pieces of gothic culture in history and is planted right in the center of Strasbourg for anyone to visit and tour.

While in France, Featherman is trying to learn French at least a little while she is there. Every week she meets with a French student to have a tutoring session, but at first communication with French natives was not totally difficult because about 50% of the people at the school speak some English.

Studying abroad in France has given Featherman the opportunity to travel to countries that are right close by like Germany, Croatia and soon to be Italy. Europe gives her the opportunity to easily drive, fly, train or bus to a bordering country or city without breaking her bank or needing to set apart a lot of time.

“The next trip I have planned is to Italy for our week long fall break”, says Featherman, “We plan to go to Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre and Rome. It has always been a dream to go to Italy so I am excited for this adventure!”

We will be sure to follow along her trip in Italy as well for more amazing sights!

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Although just 6 years old at the time, Sept. 11, 2001 is a day Elizabeth Miller can never forget.

Her father, a firefighter with the FDNY Rescue Engine Co. 5 in Staten Island, was among the 343 firefighters who died responding to the World Trade Center terrorist attacks. The tragedy not only left a lasting impact on her life but shaped her academic interests she holds to this day, including a research focus on Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism.

“I decided to look at the United States policies that shaped some of the grievances that Bin Laden had, like the stationing of troops in Saudi Arabia,” said Miller, who will serve on two panels Friday, Oct. 14, at the Liberal Arts Symposium. “Basically, looking at what the United States was doing in the regions of the Middle East that Bin Laden spoke out about in his religious opinions.”

Her research, a look at “Deciphering Osama bin Laden’s Radicalization based on United States Actions, Policies and Presence in Saudi Arabia 1990-2001” was among the works presented last spring at the CERIS’s (Consortium for Educational Resources on Islamic Studies) undergraduate symposium. It set the stage for the next phases of her research journey.

“I needed to understand for myself to help cope with what I have been through,” said Miller, a history and Arabic major, also pursuing a minor in Middle Eastern Studies. “It was also important for me to do this in order to encourage others. If I can see that Muslims aren’t bad, then the average person who hasn’t been affected by terrorism should be able to see that regardless.”

Following the CERIS symposium Miller continued her research via an URSCA grant that also paired with her one month abroad experience in Fez, Morocco. She said she chose Morocco, because it was a safe option to study abroad in the Middle East.

“Just being there opened my eyes to it more” Miller said. “You don’t really know anything until you actually go there and see it. When you study abroad, it really helps to find what you’re looking for and who you are.”

According to Miller, studying abroad has a lasting impact on a person. And she, through her own international experience, has a better understanding of herself and a validation she is on the right path toward her future career aspirations.

— Audra Ortiz, communication studies

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Lydia Stebbin's studying abroad experience has opened a number of doors for her research project and future career aspirations.

Lydia Stebbins’s research has already taken her through the quaint food markets of culturally rich Xalapa, Mexico, and will soon go global again — this spring into another cultural hub, Morocco.

Bloomsburg University’s study abroad programs have not only provided a basis for her research on the “impact of socioeconomic globalization on local markets” but have given the anthropology major an added marketability for her future.

“(Studying abroad) helped set me apart with my language abilities and how I look on job applications,” said Stebbins, who will discuss her summer experience and research on Friday, Oct. 14, at the Liberal Arts Symposium as part of two different panels.  

Stebbins, a Wymer and Warner anthropology scholar and URSCA award winner, studied Spanish and the Mexican culture this past summer at the Universidad Veracruzana-Xalapa. Her research was done through subtle observation, investigating local perceptions of the effects of global supermarkets on traditional markets, the economy, health, and culture.

According to Stebbins, she would visit different markets at various times and days of the week to simply listen and watch how the locals interacted within the market. She plans to continue this approach this spring in another country.

“I will be continuing my research of looking at the local markets and the introduction of supermarkets in the Moroccan setting as well” Stebbins said. “and then do a compare and contrast between Mexico and Morocco.”

Together, she says, these two study abroad trips will position her to write her final research senior thesis.

“Study abroad is one of the best opportunities we have in college, because it really isn’t an option after college,” said Stebbins, adding her opportunity was significantly aided by her URSCA award. “If you pass it up now you might never get the chance to do it again.”

— Audra Ortiz, communications studies major