I step out of my centrally located, posh, high-rise apartment in Amsterdam, Holland. I feel the wind on my face, the crisp smell of freshly fallen autumn leaves filling my nose. I hear a bell from one of the many passing bicycles of a busy Dutchman on his way to work. I hop onto my bicycle and head to a local bar in the canal ring for a Belgian brew with a few friends, an activity the Dutch have affectionately named a "borrel." I'm a 21-year-old college student living alone in a European metropolis, having the absolute time of my life. The world is at my fingertips.
This is studying abroad.
As the baby of the family and someone who can't go three days without talking to my mother, studying abroad for a semester Amsterdam, The Netherlands seemed like the craziest, most spontaneous, riskiest thing I've ever done in my life. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, how I'd adjust, what people would think of me, how my classes would be or what I was going to get out of it. But after a late night coffee conversation with a mentor and former DePauw professor, Dr. Cleveland Johnson, two weeks before the deadline for off-campus applications, I decided to embark on the greatest adventure of my life to date.
Now, I'm not trying to advertise for the Global Opportunities Office or try to convince you to study abroad. We hear enough of that talk at DePauw, as one of the top universities in the nation in terms of study abroad.
But my situation was unique. I was the first School of Music student in DePauw history to study women's and gender studies abroad in Amsterdam. Heck, I was the first music student to go to Amsterdam at all! You could be, too. Maybe you'll be the first environmental geosciences student to study traditional dance in Morocco. Maybe you'll be the first creative writing major to study public health in Namibia. Maybe you'll be the first kinesiology student to study sculpture in Mexico. It doesn't matter what or where it is, the point is, get out there and just do it. Step out of your comfort zone - out of your major, out of your country - and embrace the unknown.
In the School of Music, most students study abroad in a popular program in either Milan or Vienna. Scratch that - about 95 percent of music students go there. Now, don't get me wrong, there is positively nothing wrong with going to Vienna or Milan. But think of how many other amazing places in the world we could be sharing our music, our talents, our brains, our passion if we branched out. Not to mention, it's my opinion that Dr. Mark McCoy, the new dean of the school of music, would be thrilled to see more School of Music and other DePauw students branching out and engaging their academic gifts around the globe.
One of the points of studying at a liberal arts university is to be a well-rounded, intelligent adult. Almost every DePauw student I know has a second major, a minor, a concentration, or at least a second academic or personal interest that I believe could be channeled into an incredible study abroad experience. All it takes is a little hard work, a good sense of humor and a healthy appetite for curiosity.
Just think about it. Imagine yourself exploring a country that you never dreamed of. Picture yourself gaining valuable skills and experiences that you'd never have the opportunity to cultivate from a classroom in Greencastle, Indiana. They don't call us Tigers for nothing. Get out there, show your instinctual ferocity and let's change the way we see study abroad.
- Delcambre is junior from Greensboro, N.C. majoring in vocal performance with a minor in women's studies.