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Students return from abroad
Returnees readjust to lifestyle after studying overseas

By Erin Blair
Staff Writer

Tables filled with books and brochures to foreign places were crammed into Alliot this past Thursday. It was a reminder of the opportunities students have to study abroad.

This semester 88 students returned from abroad. This spring St. Michael’s shipped 54 more into the world to explore.

Returning students are back in class and making the transition to re-adjust.

“Students don’t realize how much they’ve adapted,” said Peggy Imai, director of study abroad. “It’s a surprising revelation to many.”

Imai encourages abroad students to be knowledgeable about the country and culture they are visiting as well as keeping their sense of humor, she said.

The experience is different for everyone, Imai said. For some, the memory of abroad makes students wish to return.

“My experience in France made me appreciate what I love and hate about my St. Michael’s family and friends,” said Caroline Maider, who studied at Stendhal University in Grenoble, France. “It made me evaluate what I left and what I would be returning to.”

Maider traveled with the American Institute of Foreign Study (AIFS).

“I didn’t have to really make any adjustments when I returned,” Maider said. “You can’t keep up that lifestyle forever. You get to eat amazing food, go to bars and speak to foreigners. It’s like a vacation.”

Maider never went through any sort of culture shock  arriving in France., she said
“I just had to say, ‘I’m here, this is what my life is’,” she said.

Culture shock is when students have difficulty adjusting, Imai said. She said students need to be flexible when visiting a new country and realize culture shock may occur.

“I know that I am destined to go back to France eventually,” Maider said. “I won’t be living in the US forever so my experience in Europe was just a glimpse of what my future life would be.”

Maider said many times it was scary and frustrating. She would want to scream in English but wouldn’t trade it for the world, she said.

Junior Gary DuBreuil studied in London last semester in a theater program.

Though happy with his experience, DuBreuil spoke of difficulties with his peers.

“It’s all about what you put into it,” DuBreuil said. “It’s about the mentality. Everyone knows we are only there for a semester and probably not going to talk to each other afterwards.”

DuBreuil went on trips with his program. The school sponsored 12 to 15 shows which he attended as well as others he attended on his own.

DuBreuil was also given a 10-day break in which he visited Barcelona, Paris and Rome.

Despite the opportunities presented to DuBreuil, he was happy to be back with his St. Michael’s family, he said.

“I loved London and I loved the experience, but I couldn’t replace my whole support system that I have here,” DuBreuil said. “The camaraderie just wasn’t there. You come home and have your St. Mike’s family and your home family. I missed that.”

Returning was difficult for senior Sarah Backus, who studied in Cork, Ireland last semester and said she wished she could have stayed longer.

“I miss all of my Irish friends so much,” Backus said. “If I had a choice to the matter, I would live in Ireland. They were all so great to me.”

Backus said the classes were very different in comparison to St. Michael’s. Adjusting to classes and weekend schedules was really weird, she said.

Though many students have just returned, students like Rachael Nahme have just begun their adventures abroad.

Nahme is studying and working in an orphanage in Puebla, Mexico.

“I’m here to take classes, but more importantly to get involved with the community, improve my Spanish and help out a little while I’m here,” Nahme said.

She is excited to spend her semester visiting ancient Mayan pyramids and volcanoes, Nahme said.

St. Michael’s allows approximately 30 percent of its students the chance to study abroad during their academic career, according to its Web site.

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