Transcribed Interview

Tori: So, where did you go to study abroad?

Megan: I went to Panama down in the Republic of Panama.

Tori: How long did you go abroad for?

Megan: For 12 months.

Tori: Well, that’s long! How old were you?

Megan: I was 18, no wait, 19. No definitely 18. I was 18 when I left and when I came back I was around 19.

Tori: Why did you go abroad?

Megan: Um, I originally went because I grew up very much as a home body and I was like never went to summer camp and I…

Tori: Hey that was actually one of my questions if you went to summer camp.

Megan: Nope. Never. “laughing”. I was never one of those students, but when I came to visit the school with my parents they had the tours and I really connected with the recruiters that were like you should do this. You just become so confident, independent, mature, and you get like these skills and you really do. It’s really what happens when you go abroad. It’s like every day is an adventure and you never know when the day will bring you. It is always like scary, but fun, challenging, and exciting. So, ya I thought I should do it to get out of my shell a little bit.

Tori: So, if you don’t mind me asking, how were your grades before going abroad? Like were you a good student or..?

Megan: Ya, so I went my freshman year. I did the first year abroad program. Um, so …

Tori: Oh, so that’s why it was a year.

Megan: My gpa was around a 3.8 or 3.9 and it pretty much like I think I left Panama with 3.5 or 3.6 because I was new to college classes.

Tori : Ya it is already difficult the first semester. I can only imagine what it would be like in another country too. That’s a really intense experience.

Megan: Ya I was taking physics and calculus.

Tori: It took me so long to figure out this campus. Like the first week it took me thirty minutes. Do you know where, um, what is it called, the math building is, Love BLDG?

Megan: Oh ya.

Tori: Do you know how close it is to Dorman?

Megan: Ya it is like over there.

Tori: It is probably a five-minute walk and it took me thirty minutes to find my class. I could only imagine going to classes in another country.

Megan: Oh my gosh. The thing is the day before find wherever you’re going to be going.

Tori: I did that to. I actually had a friend who went the day before with me to all my classes.

Megan: Oh, you forgot “laughs”

Tori: I am not good with directions. I have to get lost in order to actually remember things.

Megan: Well at least you know now.

Tori: But now I am good.

Megan: Ya that’s what matters.

Tori: So, what were your study habits before going abroad? Do you think they changed at all or?

Megan: Uh, I think they got better because I mean of course when you go to college your study habits become a little better I guess. Um, but when you abroad class sizes are smaller so I actually had more like I started going to professors actually. In high school, I never went to go talk to my teachers. Once I went abroad and had smaller classes and college profesors generally want to succeed, but especially when your abroad because they really want you to come back feeling like you learned and got a good GPA. So, my new study habit became like going to the professor before an exam and always going for questions and that helps a lot.

Tori: Um, did you see a change in social life and how so? Like did you think it was easier to make friends, make connections like…

Megan: Oh, ya. Like actually after going abroad it is so much easier to meet people and make friends. Um, because your just so opened up the world and you can connect to so many new people. Know that I am back I was like I was in Central America and I traveled to Colombia, El Salvador, Costa Rica…

Tori: That’s so cool!

Megan: Ya, so when I got back like I would meet people here in florida there are so many people from like

Tori: Ya most of my friends are from Colombia.

Megan: Ya so you just connect with more people like that and you also feel more worldly and more like accepting of diversity and stuff like that so..

Tori: Um do you still keep in contact with some people that you met?

Megan: Ya, I keep in touch with my house mom that I lived with and a lot of my friends came to Tallassee cause, um, a lot of them were on the study abroad program..

Tori; Like the one that switches like you do it and they do it.

Megan: Ya it is like an exchange like they can come here to this campus so I am actually still friends with most of them. And it really did help my social life here on campus because you just know so many more people. Like I see people everywhere that studied abroad.

Tori: What one of the coolest things you learned there like culturally?

Megan: Um, probally how to dance because in central America they take their dancing very seriously and I had a boyfriend from El Salvador, which like when I was there, which probally helped me a lot like learn the language, learned the culture, and learned the dancing. Its like what they do. They don’t really go clubs and like go drink.

Tori: Ya they go to

Megan: ya they go to like dance clubs.

Tori: You have like no idea. Like most of my friends are Colombian and I decided to go out with a mutual friend who brought me to a bar. It was one of the scariest things entire life. I walk in it is a small place and everyone is dancing. And I am just like.. and I was like are you kidding me. Why did you bring me here? I don’t know how to dance.

Megan: laughing

Tori: Well this is what we do.

Megan: its what they do. They know it. They were born knowing it. It is their culture.

Tori: Ya and they.. I went to Miami over break and I stayed with one of my firned and my dad started dancing with me. It was so cool because I feel like I got better at dancing, but at the same point it is so intimidating. Your just like. How do you guys do this. And they are so good at it. No matter what their age is too

Megan: ya I always felt like I stood at like a sore thumb.

Tori: Like honestly you have to.. you probally would have to practice a lot. I feel like they do it when they are younger you probally watch it a lot and then as you get older and I bet like when they are little their dad or their mom would dance with them.

Tori: What was one memory you hold onto after going abroad?

Megan: Probably this one time when this sloth came into our house because we left our door open and it was just like this big furry sloth and it clinged onto our door and we were like oh my god what do we do. And these people walking by our house because all the girls I lived with and I were petting the sloth and taking videos and I still have the video and I was just like hey and the construction worker across the road saw us playing with the sloth and came over picked it up and put it on the tree and we stood there for five minutes watching the sloth go up the tree.

Tori: That’s so cool! How many girls were you living with?

Megan: Um, 8.

Tori: How was that experience?

Megan: I only have brothers so.. I hate being with girls honestly so it was kinda of a shock for me for awhile. I mean we lived in a decently big house there and it wasn’t like an apartment. It was a new experience definitely but we all hated and loved each other at the same time.

Tori: I could only imagine. My brothers, even with my roommates her, I have one roommate, but I had another one. We didn’t have any issues but she never communicated so I would ask.. you know with brothers if something is going on they will tell you right away and if you fix good for you and if you don’t they will make you fix. Like I knew something was wrong but I am not gonna keep on asking you constantly. So, it was difficult for me if they have only sisters or no siblings at all.

Megan: Is this your second semester or third or?

Tori: This is my second semester.

Megan: Are you adjusting well?

Tori: This semester is definitely better. Last semester was just really overwhelming. I really gotten better at talking to people and advocating for myself. So is there anything you would want to get more out of the experience abroad?

Megan: Um, probally I wish I was tried harder to become closer to the girls because like I am super independent and I would go out to travel alone or with my boyfriend there and I would, I just didn’t like waiting around for them to come join us but I didn’t encourage them to come with me. I wish I had gotten closer to the people who I studied abroad with and I think it is a good idea. I was more focused on Spanish and immersing.

Tori: Of course. I get it. I think that was one of my problems. My family is fast and gets things done and I find myself kinda forcing myself to wait for my friends to get ready, which takes several hours. Did you have any idea as what you wanted to do as a career before going abroad?

Megan: Like yeah before I went abroad I wanted my whole life I wanted to be a meterolgist so do the weather like I wanted to chase hurricanes and stuff. Um but after I went abroad I started learning Spanish and I lived right near an embassy so I thought I wanted to start working at a US embassy so I changed my major to international affairs and hospitality mainly because I aslo hated the math calc.