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The Value of Studying Abroad 出国留学经验谈

 

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Exchange programs will cost you but experience is priceless  交换计划虽耗费不少，却能带来无价的宝贵经验

 

Patti Ristau said she was terrified when she first landed in Seville, Spain, for a semester studying abroad. “But it was an amazing self-enlightening experience,” she said. “I found out a lot about who I was, being there by myself, and I became a lot more confident about everything, not just my Spanish.”

派蒂．莉丝桃表示，当她首次搭机降落在西班牙塞维尔，准备展开一学期的留学生涯时，实在感到非常害怕，「但那是个不可思议的自我启蒙经验，」她说，「我只身在那里，不但让我更认识自己，而且还在各方面都变得更有自信，而不只是西班牙文而已。」

 

It’s a common theme from students who give up the comforts of home and campus to live and study on foreign soil and immerse themselves in their chosen country’s culture. They come back changed – some even admit to becoming more mature – and with a more wide-eyed view of the world.

有些学生选择放弃家乡和校园的舒适，到异地生活与求学，沈浸在所选国家的文化里，而上面的陈述是这类学生常有的心声。他们回国时，整个人脱胎换骨，有些人甚至承认自己变得更成熟了，而且对整个世界也有了更广阔的视野。

 

Difficult, but “life-changing”  「转变生命」的辛苦经验

 

But the experience doesn’t come cheap and it’s not without its tradeoffs.

但这样的经验并不便宜，而且也要付出代价。

 

For many students, it’s their first time out of the country living amid people who are not like them in more ways than the language they speak. Students who have grown up in suburbs where they drive everywhere, for example, must learn to navigate large cities like Paris or Barcelona.

对许多学生而言，这是他们第一次出国，生活在和自己不同的人群当中，而彼此间的差异不只是语言而已。例如，在郊区长大、到任何地方都习惯自己开车的人，却必须学习在巴黎或巴塞隆纳等大城市里穿梭。

 

Ristau’s life in Serville included at least an hour of walking every day to and from classes, three- to four-hour daily siestas at her host family’s [home] and most nights at a restaurant meeting people till past midnight. On weekends she traveled around Spain or took off to Italy or maybe Stockholm or Prague – a far cry from campus life in Wisconsin.

莉丝桃在塞维尔的生活，包括了每天至少步行一小时上下课，每日在寄宿家庭三至四小时的午睡，以及好几晚在餐馆和朋友聚会直到午夜过后。周末时，她会到西班牙各地旅行，或是前往意大利、斯德哥尔摩或布拉格等地，而这和她在威斯康辛的校园生活截然不同。

 

“One of the major values of a study abroad experience is for the student to really come to terms with how he or she navigates an unfamiliar world, particularly in places where a different language is dominant,” said Michael Cowan, of the University of California’s Education Abroad Program.

「出国留学经验的重要价值之一，就是让学生真正适应去因应自己不熟悉的环境，尤其是在以不同语言为主要语言的地方。」加州大学国外教育计划的麦可．柯文如此表示。

 

“I hear the term ‘life changing’ a lot,” he said. “But …. in many cases the changes are subtle but no less important.”

「我常听这些学生提到『转变生命』的说法，」他说，「然而……在许多案例中，这转变会相当细微，却仍不失其重要性。」

 

 

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wide-eyed [ˋwaɪdˋaɪd] adj. 睁大着眼睛的；惊奇的

navigate [ˋnævə͵get] v.〔尤指用地图〕导航;（为…）指引方向 Informal to walk

siesta [sɪˋɛstə] n.【西】（西班牙、意大利等地的）午睡  a rest or sleep taken after lunch, especially in hot countries

take off (突然)离开; 走开 to go off; leave

subtle [ˋsʌt!] adj. 微妙的; 不知不觉中起作用的

no less 同样…

 

 

 

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Expensive proposition  所费不赀

 

A general rule of thumb is that the more expensive the school’s tuition, the more costly the study abroad program. Another is that the student who spends a lot of money on campus is likely to spend a lot more money overseas.

估算的经验法则是，学校的学费愈贵，留学计划的费用就会愈高。另一种估算方式则是，在祖国学校里习惯花大钱的学生，到了海外之后很可能会花更多钱。

 

For students on financial aid, those funds are nearly always transferable to an established program abroad, said Truett Cates, director of Austin College’s study abroad program, in which some 70 percent of students participate. Some schools have alumni financing or other funds set aside for study abroad.

对于领取助学金的学生来说，奖助金几乎一定可以转移到外国受认可的留学计划，奥斯汀学院国外（短期）留学计划主任楚埃特．凯兹如此表示。该校有七成左右的学生参加该留学计划。有些学校设有校友提供的奖助金，或挪出一些基金专为国外留学所用。

 

Learning by experience  透过经验来学习

 

The living experiences differ. Some programs offer so-called “home stays” where students live with natives of the host country. It could be a young family, an elderly person or a single woman in her 40s. Some put students in apartments with landlords and still others find them dorms.

生活经验人人不同。有些留学计划提供所谓的「寄宿家庭」，让学生与地主国的当地人同住，寄宿屋主可能是年轻夫妻、老人家，或是四十几岁的单身女性。有些课程让学生住在房东的公寓里，有些则帮学生找宿舍。

 

“Anything that can get a student abroad for a substantial intellectual and cultural experience in which they think about what they’re experiencing is good,” Cowan said. “They learn about our own society by comparing it to what they experience and they learn about themselves in terms of their own capacity and their own power.”

「无论任何事情，只要能够让学生出国追寻实质的知性及文化体验，并且反思自己所经验的事情，就都算是好事，」柯文说，「他们可以把家乡的社会和在海外所体验到的拿来相互比较，进而更加了解祖国的社会，也能从自己所展出来的能和力量来更深入了解自己。」

 

Many also find their calling. Ristau, who had a political science curriculum as part of her double major figured she would pursue a job in business or law. But her experience in Seville was her tipping point to follow a career path that included the Spanish language.

许多学生也找到他们的天职。政治学课程是莉丝桃的双主修之一，她原本认为自己会从事商业或法律的工作；但在塞维尔的经验成了转折点，使她打算改走西班牙文能派上用场的事业生涯。

 

“I realized I wanted to take a route where I was using Spanish all the time,” she said.

「我发现我想走一条随时都能用到西班牙文的生涯道路，」她如此表示。

 

She’s now a teaching assistant in bilingual classes at a suburban Chicago school and is working on a master’s degree in teaching.

她目前在芝加哥郊区一所学校担任双语课程助教，而且正在攻读教学硕士学位。

 

 

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rule of thumb 基本原则; 经验法则; 行事法则 a useful principle having wide application but not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable in every situation

fund [fʌnd] n. (尤指为某一特定目的给予的)资金，钱款

transferable [trænsˋfɝəb!] adj. 可转移的

alumni [ə`lʌmnaɪ] n. [plural]【美】校友  those who have left a school, college or university after finishing their studies there

set aside 留出; 拨出 to separate and reserve for a special purpose

calling [ˋkɔlɪŋ] n. 职业; 天职an occupation, profession, or career

curriculum [kəˋrɪkjələm] n.（一门）课程; 学校的全部课程  the group of subjects studied in a school, college, etc.

tipping point  转捩点；转折点 the critical point in an evolving situation that leads to a new and irreversible development

 

 

 

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Other things to consider  其他考虑因素

 

Financial drawbacks. It’s more expensive than a semester on campus, no matter how it’s dressed. There are the class fees and the living expenses and, of course, the travel costs both to get to and from the host country. These are lost revenues too for many students who have jobs on campus. And don’t forget that many programs require a total payment upfront, which can be problematic for some students.

财务方面的不利因素。无论如何美化夸饰，出国留学一学期，一定会比在本国求学更贵。除了学费和生活费用之外，当然还少不了往返本国和外国的旅费。对于许多原本在校园内打工的学生，也将会少了份收入。还有别忘了许多留学计划要求全额预付，这对一些学生来说可能也是个问题。

 

Expensive cities. If money is a deciding factor, consider where to go. It’s far cheaper to live and study in Granada, Spain, than it is in Paris or London. The increase in the number of students choosing to study in China or India has partly been attributed to the cheaper lifestyle in those countries.

生活费高昂的城市。如果经费是决定性因素的话，不妨多加考虑所去的地点。在西班牙格拉纳达居住求学，远比在巴黎或伦敦更便宜。选择到中国或印度学习的学生人数增加，部分原因就是两国的生活费用较为便宜。

 

Safety. It’s a concern no matter which country you’re in and all reputable programs offer comprehensive information on what to be on the lookout for. Schools like UC, for example, have risk managers on staff who keep close track on what’s happening in other countries.

安全。不管你在哪个国家，安全都是一个顾虑，而所有信誉良好的留学计划皆提供详尽的信息，让你知道什么需要小心防范。例如加州大学等学校就设有风险管理工作人员，他们会密切留意其他国家的时事动向。

 

Delay in graduating. Some majors, like engineering and certain sciences, have what schools call “lock-step curriculums” that don’t allow for semesters off campus. That’s given rise to shortened summer abroad programs and, at many schools, three- to four-week programs in January. Even still, some students will find their graduations, and subsequent entry into the work force, delayed if they go abroad, which is another cost to consider.

延迟毕业。比如工程学和一些理工科等主修课程，具有学校所谓的「固定进度课程」，不准许校外求学，这也导致时程缩短的暑期游学计划应运而生，许多学校也提供一月份为期三至四周的游学计划。但即便如此，一些学生仍会发现如果出国游／留学，毕业及之后进入职场的时间就会延迟，这方面必须付出的代价也是另一项需要考虑的因素。

 

Resources. Nearly every college and university has a section on their websites about study abroad programs as do third-party programs. Cowan said that the more transparent a third party is on its website and the less proprietary information they’re trying to guard, “the more you have a sense that it’s an organization that feels like it can stand up against its competitors.”

资源。几乎每间大专院校的网站上都有一部分用来公布国外（短期）留学计划，此外还有第三方项目计划。柯文表示，第三方在网站上公布的信息愈是清楚透明，而且试图保留的专有信息愈少，「你就愈会觉得，这大概是个可以与竞争者相抗衡的组织。」

 

−by Jennifer Waters

 

 

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drawback [ˋdrɔ͵bæk] n. 缺点，短处，不利条件

dress [drɛs] v. 调整 arrange

upfront [ˋʌp͵frʌnt] adj. 预付的

attribute [ˋætrə͵bjut] v. 把……归因于；把……归咎于[（+to）]

lock-step 密集连锁的 a rigidly inflexible pattern or process

give rise to 引起, 产生, 导致 to cause something to exist

even still 即便如此 even so

section [ˋsɛkʃən] n.（事物的）部分

 

 

 

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Vocabulary Focus

enlightening [ɪnˋlaɪtnɪŋ] adj. 有启发作用的，使人领悟的 giving you more information and understanding of something

immerse [ɪˋmɝs] v. 使埋首于；使深陷于[（+in）] to become completely involved in something

tradeoff [ˋtred͵ɔf] n.〔两种对立因素之间的〕平衡; 妥协; 协调 a situation in which one accepts something bad in order to have something good

a far cry from【口】与...大不相同 to be completely different from something

come to terms with 与…达成协议；忍受，对待 to gradually accept a sad or difficult situation

dominant [ˋdɑmənənt] adj. 占优势的 more important, strong or noticeable than anything else of the same type

substantial [səbˋstænʃəl] adj. 大量的; 内容充实的; 有价值的; 重要的 large in size, value or importance

reputable [ˋrɛpjətəb!] adj. 声誉好的 having the good opinion of others, able to be trusted

on the lookout for 对…保持警惕, 提防… to be searching for something or someone; in search of; looking for

transparent [trænsˋpɛrənt] adj. 透明的; 明晰的 clear and easy to understand or recognize

proprietary [prəˋpraɪə͵tɛrɪ] adj. 私有的，私营的 describes goods which are made and sent out by a particular company whose name is on the product