I completed my study abroad requirement through a virtual course. I made this decision because I had planned on studying abroad during the summer of 2020, but then the pandemic happened and that felt unrealistic. I decided to take a course during the winter intersession of 2020-2021. The course was HONS 495- Global Engagement through Scholarship and Citizenship. Throughout this course, we discussed culture on a broad scale and how citizen leaders should act when visiting other countries.

While this was not the experience I had originally planned, it was still beneficial and I enjoyed taking the course. We read a variety of texts and discussed topics like cultural relativism, ethnocentrism, among others. My classmates and I also had to write discussion boards about what we read each week and respond to others. I also found this enjoyable because since this class was asynchronous online, it felt good to connect with my classmates from time to time.

Overall, I believe this course taught me that a person can learn about culture in different ways. I feel as though I am more informed about different cultures and how to act in other countries. I found this course very helpful and I feel more prepared to leave the United States and feel confident in my abilities to embrace other cultures and learn from them.

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The document above is a reflection type paper I wrote for this course. For this assignment, I was asked to interview someone in a related field to me and to discuss their abroad experiences. The person I spoke to traveled to various places in Latin America. She discussed her experiences living in other countries and how important forming a community was. It makes sense a person would feel lonely by themselves in a foreign country, but I assume it is an aspect of traveling that some people overlook. She also discussed how her abroad experiences gave her a better understanding of the United States. For instance, how our voting system and grocery stores vary from other places. I found my conversation with her very helpful and I will remember her tips when I make plans to travel outside of the United States.