| Wednesday, April 25
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Study abroad? Try scrimping abroad. |
Giving shoulder rubs to strangers in London. Sleeping on the steps of a Spanish cathedral rather than the hostel. Waiting until 1 a.m. to eat spaghetti at home in Rome because dinner out breaks the bank.
American students are getting creative as they cope with the weakening dollar.
Forget how the beleaguered greenback affects investors and tourists. For college students, undoubtedly some of the poorest Americans doing business in Europe, the bad exchange rate comes down to altered lifestyles and an obstacle to fully experiencing foreign cultures.
Europe continues to be the top destination for American students, but what used to be excited chatter about local cafes has been replaced with sarcastic jokes about the “Euro diet.” Some Americans who studied in Britain, where the pound this week reached a 26-year high against the dollar, have reported returning home noticeably slimmer.
For students based in pricey cities, it means living in the suburbs, away from many of the cultural happenings that shape an international experience. Students now overlook Eurorail passes, a staple among past decades of study-abroad participants, in favor of discount airline Web sites.
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CREATIVE LODGING
The exchange rate has forced some to get creative. YiRan Liu, 21, who studied at Goldsmith's College in London during her junior year, joined a company where women in tank tops visited exclusive nightclubs to approach strangers with offers of seven-minute shoulder rubs. On a good night, she could earn up to 200 pounds, or about $400. But the midnight to 3 a.m. shifts were brutal, and Liu quit after six weeks.
“It's definitely a different experience,” said Liu, now a senior at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. “It was a pretty nitty-gritty experience of London.”
Liu, an art student, saved money by buying glossy paint at hardware stores rather than expensive oil paints. Dinners consisted of canned tuna mixed with sweet corn.
“A lot of people had Sunday dinners and English breakfasts and did stuff that was traditionally English, but I never really had bangers and mash,” she said, referring to the English dish of sausages and mashed potatoes.
Students who want to travel around Europe often have to trim their budgets elsewhere. Kathryn Martires, who is studying in Madrid, and her friends booked a three-day trip to Cadiz in southern Spain -- but didn't reserve a hotel room.
“We just stayed out all night,” said Martires, 20, a junior at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. “We were trying to sleep on the beach and were homeless. We took a nap on the big steps of a cathedral. When we got there, we were full of energy, but at the end, it was like 'I hurt, let's go home.”'
In the U.S., a night in a hostel can cost around $30 -- even in the most expensive cities. In London a similar hostel room can easily top $50.
Joshua Rood-Ojalvo, who is studying in Florence, Italy, has spent long nights in some of Europe's prettiest cities, such as Brussels, on uncomfortable airport benches to wait for morning flights.
When he went to Madrid, he slept on the floor of the hotel room that his friends' study-abroad program had booked rather than splurging for a hostel.
“I was constantly sneaking across the front desk,” said Rood-Ojalvo, 21, a junior at Oberlin College in Ohio. “I kept on getting all these looks, and having my friends open side doors for me to get in.”
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ALTERED EATING HABITS
Perhaps most noticeable is how the exchange rate can sucker punch American students in the stomach.
Mike Vainisi, 21, a junior at the University of Illinois, is taking food and culture classes in Rome. But most of the Italian dishes he learns about, such as saltimbocca alla romana, a veal and Parma ham dish, he could never taste in a restaurant.
The way to live cheaply in Rome is to “avoid eating out at all costs,” said Vainisi, who skips lunch several times a week and eats spaghetti at 1 a.m.
“We've all lost weight,” he said. “I saw one of my buddies in Verona, and he was like, 'Your face looks thinner!' and I was like, 'God, you've lost weight.”'
Despite the high cost of living, students still flock to Europe. Britain, Italy, Spain and France continued their years-long stranglehold as the top four study abroad destinations for American college students in the 2004-2005 school year, according to figures from the Institute for International Education, a New York-based nonprofit that tracks international study.
About 45 percent of the 205,983 American study-abroad trips during that period were to those four countries. Allan Goodman, president of the institute, said the availability of courses taught in English attracts American students to Europe. But no matter how bad the exchange rate gets, Goodman said students -- and future employers -- can't put a price tag on internationalism.
“It's about relating to other societies and other people who perhaps think differently than we do,” he said. “The most important fact is getting there, and yes, it's more expensive, but the educational value of understanding that there is a difference is invaluable.”
It might not be as morbid as it all sounds. Students -- some for the first time -- are learning the basics of budgeting. Often that means skipping a few crepes is worth it if the trade-off is the chance to see a friend in Berlin.
Julianna Tobak, 20, a junior from Syracuse University who is studying in Florence, Italy, is on a weekly budget of about $27 for eating out, drinking and shopping. But her most enriching cultural interactions had nothing to do with money.
“Experiencing culture is about the people you meet,” she said, “not the amount of museums or statues you visit.”Labels: study abroad |
posted by ^%&^
@ 10:28 PM
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