resourcesschool resources
ciee our view series
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moving beyond the gap A ‘food for thought' piece, created as part of the CIEE Our View series by CIEE Study Abroad experts in the field, for university advisors and faculty on some of the most current topics in study abroad. This piece discusses the topic of the gap year abroad from a university-level prospective. Take the time to read more on the following topic and pass this piece on to those interested in Gap Year Abroad. Click here to read the entire Our View essay. |
ciee knowledge series
The Knowledge series has been created by CIEE Study Abroad experts in the field for university students on some of the most current pre-departure preparation topics for students, their parents, and their advisors as additional resources to assist in schools and families in the study abroad process. Despite being written for a university-level student body, you will find these topics helpful for a High School Abroad or Gap Year Abroad student body. So take the time to read more on the following topics and pass this advice on to your students:
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safety: info on security plans, tips for yours At home, you probably have a natural understanding of how to keep yourself safe. Abroad, you'll be in an unfamiliar environment, far away from people you usually rely on for guidance and support when things go wrong. That throws the idea of “safety” into a whole new light. Read on to learn what programs do — and especially what you can do — to keep yourself safer. Click here to read the entire Safety essay. |
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return: readying to re-enter, reinvented There's no doubt about it: you've changed. The new you is returning home to meet old friends and familiar surroundings. But once you get there, you might not feel as comfortable as you remember. It's enough of a phenomenon that educators have a term for it, “re-entry”. By integrating the person you have become abroad with the person you were before, you'll complete the transformation you began the moment you left. Click here to read the entire Return essay. |
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risks: the good, the bad, and how to tell the difference Studying abroad will put you in unfamiliar situations that have the power to transform you as a student, as a citizen of the world, and as a person. If you want to learn and experience as much as you can, you'll need to put your skills and yourself on the line. You'll have to take risks. But don't confuse these good risks with bad ones that can endanger the health, safety, and well-being of yourself and others. With sound judgment, good common sense, and a little restraint, you can control much of your own destiny while abroad. Click here to read the entire Risks essay. |
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women: what you need to know abroad Get set to learn firsthand how widely standards of behavior can vary from culture to culture. So be ready to learn, analyze, and adapt. You, like the women before you, will become part of defining how people abroad perceive American women…and the wider world will become part of defining who you are. Click here to read the entire Women essay. |
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food: the edible part of culture The food of the country you plan to study in probably wasn't the first thing you thought about (or maybe it was). Like many other lifestyle choices you make almost subconsciously on a daily basis, what you eat and drink will be called into question while you're living overseas. Breakfast doesn't mean cold cereal. Dinner may happen at lunchtime, with the complicated dishes and extended mealtimes that involves. Food and beverages are different away from home, and that's because they satisfy something deeper than hunger and thirst. Click here to read the entire Food essay. |
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identity: sexual and gender expression abroad Studying abroad is a golden opportunity to live another culture, soak up a second language, and transform yourself as a citizen and as a human being. If you're lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersexed, or an ally (LGBTQIA, for short) this could include experimenting with and expressing alternate identities, both sexual and non-sexual. Click here to read the entire Identity essay. |
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contact: communicating while abroad in a connected world If you talk to someone who studied abroad thirty years ago, you'll probably hear tales of the weeks he spent on a ship carrying him and his steamer trunks to a faraway locale where nothing besides the occasional letter would interrupt his isolation from the life he'd known before. Today, study abroad is as much an experience of personal transformation as ever, but it definitely involves less detachment from other people and places. First, transportation advances made distances much, much smaller. Then, communication tools such as mobile phones and the Internet built us a borderless world of instant, constant contact. Click here to read the entire Contact essay. |
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exchange: ambassadorship in an age of global conflict What determines someone's initial perceptions of you, your country, and your culture? At the core, it's their attitudes toward the political, economic, social, and cultural systems of your homeland. This perspective on your home country is a big part of what you'll gain by studying abroad. You'll see first-hand that the world is asymmetrical, full of people and nations with divergent views—and yet that we are more interdependent than ever. Your time abroad will ready you to live in that world. Click here to read the entire Exchange essay. |