There hasn’t been a single semester of my college career where I haven’t thought about studying abroad.

My freshman year at Penn State, I applied for the semester program in Tel Aviv, Israel, however, my hopes were dashed when I was told of my unfortunate timing error. There had been a travel waiver that needed to be submitted, oh, just a few months before I had spent my already jam-packed semester gathering all the necessary paperwork to apply. Go figure.  I thought this was going to be my big moment – Israel! Everyone I talked to about it gave me a face that looked something like a mix between a “WTF” and a “More power to ya.”  But, alas, after applying, I was hit with a big fat REJECTION notice, and adding insult to injury, was the realization that, had I miraculously been able to get every single paper filled out the very moment that I discovered the Israel program, my paperwork still would have been too late.

Obviously, in the moment, that experience was a bit crushing, but I can now see how the rejection letter could be counted as blessing in disguise. I now truly believe that Israel, although temptingly interesting, was not the right destination for me. As they say, hindsight’s 20/20.   

So, now it’s my junior year. I’m a Secondary English Education major about embark on a journey to Venezuela.

How does one go from destination-Israel to destinaci�n–Venezuela, you might ask? Well, I suppose the simple answer would be the most obvious – I have a deep desire to learn the Spanish language.  Israel would have been wonderful place to experience, but the chance to be immersed in the Latin American language and culture is something that is, from my perspective, invaluable. 

That was the simple answer.

The complex answer starts with my seven year involvement in a performing arts prison ministry called Shining Light.  Through this ministry, I have had the unique opportunity to travel behind the barbed wire into over 60 different prisons across the United States, among the more well known being Rikers Island and San Quentin State Penitentiary. Through this long-lasting and impactful experience, I have come to understand many things about myself, other people, and the world.

I’ve learned that there is no way I can see youth who join gangs at age 11 and not want to be a part of those fighting for a change. This is one reason behind my choice to become a high school English teacher.  One day, I would like to teach in a prison, because with all the negativity that inmates face, I would like to be part of the few who can confidently say to them you are not your past and encourage them to use education as their ally for success. Also, it is no secret that within many of our detention centers and inner city schools there is a vast amount of racial diversity. My hope is that by becoming bilingual, I can better serve and relate with a larger population of people who are in desperate need of hope and a new beginning.  

While I have never been outside the United States, traveling in and out of our country’s prisons, rehabs, and detention facilities has taught me that to experience a different way of life, you don’t have to go far.  I don’t think that, by any means, my experiences with Shining Light have fully prepared me for an abroad experience, but they have given me the desire to learn and to be open to different cultures and attitudes.  The most important thing that I have learned over the last seven years is that my world here in Pennsylvania is very different from the world at large, and that the more I allow myself to experience those differences, the more I learn about who I am and the person I want to become.

As a teacher-in-the-making my goal has always been to experience things that will enrich the lives of my students.  The more knowledge I can gain about people and the world, the more I then have to pass on to them when we’re stuck between those four walls for fifty minutes. The more I can instill within my students a sense of wonder, rather than prejudice, when it comes to different cultures, the more successful I will view my role as a teacher.  I want to show them the benefits of stepping out of one’s comfort zone firsthand, and the only way to do that is, obviously, to do it myself.

I don’t know what to say about my expectations for Venezuela.  I’m hoping to come home with a deeper understanding for the language and the culture, and I’ll be the first to admit that I have no idea what I’m in for as far as the host family experience, my classes… anything. Chances are, I’ll probably cry at least once (probably more) while abroad. I know a lot of people in the US seem to have prejudices concerning Venezuela (at least, that’s what I’m finding whenever I tell people where I’ll be studying next semester), but that’s sort of my fascination with it.  I could have chosen anywhere – some place well known and calm, but I wanted to see for myself what lies beyond what people think they know and into the true heart of Venezuela – its people.

In addtion to getting to know the people and the culture, here are some things I would really like to have done before leaving Venezuela:

1.     Teleferico de Merida -the world’s highest cable car

2.     Horseback riding in the Andes

3.     Salto Angel–world’s highest waterfall

4.      Helader�a Coromoto–an ice cream shop in Merida that has over 800 flavors (from chocolate to sausage and onion! Ah!)

I couldn’t be more nervous and excited if someone paid me!  And I think, at first, the experience might be comparable to free falling…

But since I already know what that feels like… no big deal, right?

Hasta Enero!

Mandy

Location: Lebanon, Pennsylvania