Going global in 2010, Part II: LASP, NILI and beyond

[Blog post & Facebook note from http://www.goglobalatsnu.blogspot.com/]

SNU does a good job of encouraging and helping students study abroad. There are 13 students studying abroad this semester: 6 @ QERC (I talked about that in an earlier blog post), 3 @ the Australia Studies Centre, 1 in the China Studies Program, 2 in the Latin America Studies Program (Costa Rica) and 1 @ the Nazarene International Language Institute (Ecuador). All of the programs I mentioned are great; however, since I'm a Spanish prof, I'll push the Spanish-language programs just a bit.

Kristin Lege and Paul James are in the Latin American Studies Program (better known as LASP) and Alicia Bland is at the Nazarene International Language Institute (better known as NILI). As far as I know, Paul is the only one of the three that is keeping a blog. You can follow his posts @ http://buenviaje-puravida.blogspot.com/. Kristin and Alicia are using Facebook to keep folks updated about their adventures, so you'll need to be (or become) their Facebook friend to keep up with them.

Students often ask me for advice on which program they should attend, LASP or NILI. My response is that both programs are good, they just take different approaches. In both programs, students are involved in language immersion. In LASP, students live with a Costa Rican family; in NILI, students live in a dorm with a Latin American roommate. In LASP, students study Spanish intensively for a period before moving on to their different concentrations (LASP offers four concentrations). In NILI, students study Spanish throughout the semester except when on trips away from Quito. All LASP students spend a short period in Nicaragua, and depending on the concentration, may go to Cuba, Panama or Guatemala. NILI students spend their entire time in Ecuador and travel to different locations, including the Amazon jungle and the Galapagos Islands. If you are thinking about studying abroad and wondering which program is best for you, I suggest checking out their websites, http://www.bestsemester.com/lasp/ for LASP and http://www.gonili.com/ for NILI. There are also several LASP and NILI alums on campus at SNU. Talk to them and let them tell you about their experiences. (If you need contact info, drop me an email at fjohnson@snu.edu.)

One development at SNU that is just getting underway this semester is the new Center for Global Engagement. As the Center gets up and going, it will become the central location for information on all "credit-earning" international experiences through SNU. Dr. Don Dunnington is heading up the office and Rhea Woodcock (who studied at LASP last semester) is working with him. Stay tuned to hear more good news about the office. Meanwhile, the Center for Global Engagement is holding a couple of informational meetings this week: Monday, February 15, at 7:30 pm and Wednesday, February 17, at 1:30 pm. Both meetings are in the faculty lounge. If you are interested in studying abroad, you should go to one of those meetings and start checking out the opportunities.

And let's keep going global at SNU.