Studying Abroad in the Global South

This podcast episode by Laura G. is part of a larger blog about improving spoken Arabic. She introduces the podcast as follows:

My Amideast language partner Fatima (who is totally amazing by the way!!!) and I discuss how we both improved our language skills, with half of the podcast in English and half in Spoken Arabic. I am not perfect in Arabic, and I make a lot of mistakes, but the most important thing is the ability to express myself and get my point across and trying to gain confidence in the language. I hope you like it and I wish you all the best of luck in your Arabic Learning Journeys!

Laura G. is a student from USC participating on Amideast’s Area and Arabic Language Studies program in Amman, Jordan in Spring 2023.

Marhaba! Hello everyone. Here is my first try at a podcast and I hope you like it. It is a little long so I have put some time stamps below outlining the main sections and points.

 Outline:

 0:00 - Introduction to Me

2:10 - Don’t Limit Yourself: The Trap of “Whether or Not I Should Study Abroad?”

Image credit: Laura G. 2023

4:39 - Consider Your Priorities: How Important is Study Abroad to You?

6:24 - How to Study Abroad as a Stem Major: Advice If You Are Still a Highschool Student

10:13 - How to Study Abroad as a Stem Major: Advice If You Are a College Student

17:12 - Study Abroad as Early as Possible

18:42 - Pros and Cons of Studying Abroad in the MENA Region as a STEM Student

23:03 - Ways that Studying Abroad will Help Your Future

26:08 - Stop Being a Resume, Study Abroad for YOU

28:52 - Two Areas of Activities to Focus on Before You Graduate/Get a Job

Laura G. is a student from USC participating on Amideast’s Area and Arabic Language Studies program in Amman, Jordan in Spring 2023.

A year studying abroad in Jordan was one factor in helping our guest embark upon a new phase of a life best lived. In this episode, the title of which aims to celebrate Pride while claiming and flipping a term from wonk-speak, he shares with us important insights about identity from his time abroad.

In conversation about committing professionally and personally to the MENA regions in all of their complexity, learning Arabic, and the differences between studying abroad as an undergraduate versus as a graduate student, two colleagues discuss the importance of representation and institutional support through the lens of their experiences as Black women of color.

Two long-time study abroad professionals discuss their grim view that study abroad, especially in the Global South, is built on an inescapable foundation of inequity between students and host communities. Their wide-ranging discussion focuses on homestays and other close encounters created for students with “the locals.”

An early-career MENA (Middle East, North Africa) regional specialist and study abroad professional talks candidly about identity and intersectionality through the lens of her first experiences studying abroad as a Black woman of color.

An introduction characterized by one practitioner’s rage-y thoughts about study abroad as an industry that remains at the behest of the Global North. This podcast’s goal to be a resource for intersectional understandings of issues important to study abroad, explained.