Studying Abroad Broadens Horizons

By Justin Padilla
Menlo Oak Staff


Leaving home for the first time for college was a big step. Leaving to attend college in a foreign country poses entirely new obstacles for one to overcome.

Every semester, Menlo College offers its students the chance to take a semester, or a year, to study abroad. Menlo College has contracts with other colleges in many countries that allow students to take classes in other institutions while getting educational credit as a Menlo student.

The students have an option to study in countries such as China, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, England, Japan and many more. Not only does this program provide classes that are not being offered in Menlo College, but also it allows students to have the opportunity to experience a different culture and meet new people. 

Two students, Cory Arashiro and Carlos Lopez, took advantage of this program for a semester. Arashiro traveled to Osaka, Japan and Lopez spent time in London, England.

Photo Courtesy: Cory Arashiro
Experiencing the Japanese culture by visiting a hot spring.

“The two programs I signed up for were the speaking partner and home stay,” said Arashiro, an international management major that went to Kansai University. “For the speaking partner program, the school partnered the students up with a Japanese student to give them an opportunity to practice their Japanese and make new friends. The home stay program paired the students up with a Japanese family to live with them for the entire semester. This allowed me to experience a bit of the Japanese lifestyle.”

When taking classes in a different country, there are different educational standards that needed to be met. In Japan, Arashiro took courses such as International Management, Speaking and Writing Japanese and Global Business Teams.  Meanwhile in London, Lopez studied Cross-Cultural Marketing, Marketing Research and more.  These classes focus on business aspects with an international perspective. Students use knowledge gained at Menlo and apply it to be successful in a new environment.

Lopez and Arashiro both said that academics were demanding overseas, but they still had time to travel and have fun during the weekends. Not only were they learning inside the classroom, but also outside the classroom as well.

“When you study language in the U.S., you utilize your skills in the classroom but you don’t have a chance to practice,” explained Lopez, marketing major that went to the University of Westminster. “When you are abroad you are forced to use those language skills in daily life: to buy food, ask for directions, to just get by.”

Menlo students had to assimilate into their new surroundings. Seemingly simple tasks such as buying groceries and asking for directions were difficult in a foreign country, especially where English is not the primary language. A lot of trial and error as well as first hand experiences occur when in a different country, but these are necessary to truly learn and appreciate a country and it’s culture. 

“The more you put into it, the more you will get out of it,” explained Arashiro.

Success abroad depends on how dedicated one is. An individual’s personal discipline will affect their experiences. Interactions with the local students opened doors to learn more about the culture. Locals know more about the country and open doors for changes to travel and learn more about the country by participating in national holidays, matsuri (which means “festival” in Japanese), or visiting historical monuments.

“You don’t really learn much culture in class, you can’t fully understand it until you have a chance to apply what you learned and experience it first hand,” said Ararshiro.

Any students interested in applying for the study abroad program can do so by visiting the Academic Center. Students are advised to apply in advance and make sure the program allows them to still complete their major requirements on time.