This summer I rode through the desert on the back of a Jeep to watch the sunset in Jordan. I slept beneath the stars in a tent after eating lamb – cooked in the ground – for dinner. I snorkeled in the Red Sea while I simultaneously saw land in Jordan, Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia. I climbed 1,000 steps in Petra, a world wonder, to see the most breathtaking views I have ever experienced. I drank tea with strangers while sharing personal stories and experiences from the United States.
All thanks to Northeastern’s Dialogue of Civilizations program.

The university prides itself on experiential learning, co-op and a wide variety of study abroad programs offered in various countries around the world. College is a time for students to define themselves by concentrating on their passions. The decision to attend Northeastern, but not take advantage of the opportunities the university offers seems useless.
Although faculty, parents and peers encourage students to broaden their horizons, nothing really prepares you until you experience it for yourself.

While living abroad in Amman, Jordan and Istanbul, Turkey as a foreign student correspondent for 33 days this summer, I met strangers each day and interviewed them about religion, women’s rights and accessibility for people with disabilities. I had the opportunity to write compelling stories about subjects that people outside the United States don’t have the freedom to talk about every day without punishment. I also had the chance to tour countries in between completing stories and other written assignments.

The experiences were invaluable and sometimes indescribable, and they can’t be repeated or possibly understood on American soil. The group of students might not have uncovered groundbreaking news, but all of us exposed our families and friends in the United States to some of the injustices that exist elsewhere in the world.

Dialogue of Civilizations programs are meant for students to learn, to grow and to experience something special. They are summer semesters worth eight credits each, but instead of sitting in stuffy classrooms four days a week, students can explore the world by focusing on their majors or exploring other academic interests, and, develop lifelong relationships.

“Dialogues are a great learning experience,” said Brendan Slean, a senior political science major who participated in a Dialogue of Civilizations program to Greece this summer. “You are able to learn a great deal from a number of different people while you are experiencing the world. They provide a great context to enjoy the world around you as well.”

As a rising senior, I finally left my bubble in Massachusetts to explore the world and to meet people with cultures, lifestyles, religions, personal interests and beliefs unlike my own. I think the ability to simultaneously recognize those opposing beliefs and to be respectful of other’s opinions at the same time is a trait not many people possess unless they put forth the effort to try.

I now know too much, have met extraordinary people and have witnessed too many both beautiful and devastating sights to be the same person I was before I embarked on the trip with three professors and peers. I encourage both incoming freshmen and returning students to apply for at least one similar experience – either a Dialogue of Civilizations program for one month or a traditional study abroad semester – and to take the plunge to become a better, more experienced global citizen.

– Michele Richinick can be reached at [email protected]