Last summer Matt Mitchell fed a wild boar, watched coconuts fall from their trees, and drifted on the clear blue water surrounding the volcanic island La Isla de Tortuga in Costa Rica.
"That island and the experience I had was the Costa Rica I was looking for," said Mitchell, a political science senior.
Mitchell reflected on his opportunity to travel and study abroad as The University of Memphis observed International Education Week. Universities nationally are promoting American students going aboard and foreigners coming here to study this week.
Students like Maresh Kannduri who came to the United States from India seeking more opportunities and a master's degree in management information systems.
In his experience he has had many good and bad times, he said. "Some people accept. Some people don't," Kannduri said. "I get some stares."
He said coming here and having some of the same facial characteristics of someone from the Middle East has produced some bigotries.
But, he said, he doesn't hesitate coming here.
He has struggled with higher living costs and language barriers. He said all of his 21 years of studying in India were in English. However, people here still had a hard time understanding him because of his accent, and he doesn't comprehend all of the slang.
He said he saw many Americans studying the culture and religion in India when he still lived there, and they were very accepted.
"The treatment they get there is not the treatment we get here," Kannduri said. "But it's OK"
He has learned how to deal with the struggles and has gained enjoyment from new things.
Rebecca Laumann, the study abroad director, advises students to take the first step when they get into another country. She said it is important to make friends and get involved.
"I learned a lot from my American friends," Kannduri said. "I learned better about the culture."
He said he is now a fan of American football and has a great time seeing the Tigers play in the Liberty Bowl.
"The games played here are completely different than in other parts of the world," he said.
He has also had the opportunity to travel in other cities in the United States. When he visited his sister, who lives in Detroit, he got to see snow for the first time. He said he really enjoyed it. Mitchell who studied in San Jose, Costa Rica, encountered a few of the same struggles as Kannduri.
At first, for Mitchell, the language was an obstacle. He said everyday he had to speak Spanish to order food and get directions. The language barrier eventually became easier, but he still had a hard time getting around.
"I thought Costa Rica was going to be paradise, but it was like any developing country."
What moved him most about his trip abroad came from the family he was able to stay with.
He said they changed him more than anything else. The stories they told him and the love they shared was as unique to their culture as it was to them.
"The best thing I learned from going to Costa Rica was cultural adaptation," Mitchell said.
Laumann said Mitchell experienced what many students find when they travel to other countries, the ability to understand another culture.She added that students also become more independent and capable of getting through difficult situations.
"It is empowering," she said. "You become a sophisticated traveler. You realize you can make it."
She said whatever host country a student goes to can become like a second home.
Mitchell gained a new family when he went abroad, and he said he would absolutely do it again.
"I expected to have a good vacation and a learning experience, and I got both," he said.
