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Speaker 1: Congratulations, you've been accepted into the inaugural class of Bear

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Speaker 1: pap for Black Rose University. Whether packing for a new

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Speaker 1: year on campus, begging through year gap year, enrolling in

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Speaker 1: a community college, or grabbing your souls for graduation, tbgu

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Speaker 1: is here to help you thrive at this stage of

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Speaker 1: your life and beyond.

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Speaker 2: Hi. I'm sorrya Taylor, and I'm the TBG podcast production intern.

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Speaker 2: We'll return to Jana right after the break.

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Speaker 1: Studying abroad can be one of the most rewarding experiences

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Speaker 1: of a college student's life, but there are so many

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Speaker 1: things to consider when preparing to apply for a program,

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Speaker 1: the financial cost, choosing a country to go to, and

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Speaker 1: even knowing what program to apply for. To provide advice

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Speaker 1: and help synthesize all the information that's involved with studying abroad,

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Speaker 1: I'm joined today by two guests. Founder of the nonprofit

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Speaker 1: Girls Going Global, Martisse Sutton and Girls Going Global student

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Speaker 1: ambassador Rachel Jones. Girls Going Global is a nonprofit organization

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Speaker 1: designed to help expose and empower African American girls through

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Speaker 1: travel and cultural exchange. In our conversation today, we discuss

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Speaker 1: what it means to travel abroad as a black woman,

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Speaker 1: some important safety tips to keep in mind when studying

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Speaker 1: in a foreign country, and the importance of viewing study

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Speaker 1: abroad as a chance for cultural emrgon rather than as

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Speaker 1: a vacation. Here's our conversation. Hi, y'all, I really appreciate

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Speaker 1: you both taking the time to talk with me today

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Speaker 1: about traveling abroad. I am so excited for this conversation,

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Speaker 1: and I personally have experienced traveling abroad. I'm just excited

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Speaker 1: all things traveling abroad, travel, all of it. So I

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Speaker 1: can't wait for us to dive right in. So to start,

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Speaker 1: can you tell me a little about Girls Going Global

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Speaker 1: and the work you both do through this organization.

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Speaker 3: Sure? So, Girls Going.

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Speaker 4: Global is a nonprofit organization that empowers girls through travel

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Speaker 4: and cultural exchange programs. So we started in twenty twelve

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Speaker 4: in Philadelphia, and I always tell people we had no

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Speaker 4: intention to travel when I started this organization. It was

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Speaker 4: a global awareness organization, and I just wanted girls that

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Speaker 4: looked like me to know that there were women presidents

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Speaker 4: in other countries to know who Malala was. I never

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Speaker 4: wanted to travel with children. And then we started doing

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Speaker 4: passport scholarships, and of course, once our girls got their

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Speaker 4: first passport. They wanted to go somewhere, and we got

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Speaker 4: on the megabus from Philadelphia to Toronto, Canada, and our

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Speaker 4: summer travel camps were born. So then we expanded to Atlanta,

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Speaker 4: and then we moved our headquarters to Atlanta, and today

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Speaker 4: we work with girls throughout the US and we have

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Speaker 4: traveled to over eight countries over the past nine years,

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Speaker 4: and we've been able to just do so many things.

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Speaker 4: So that's the quick gist on Girls going Global and

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Speaker 4: how we originated.

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Speaker 3: Lovely Martiz, where did the idea for GGG come from.

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Speaker 4: I went to Spelman College. I was an international studies major,

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Speaker 4: and I studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain. So the black

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Speaker 4: travel movement that you see today did not exist in

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Speaker 4: two thousand and nine, and so people would assume you

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Speaker 4: were African if you were traveling throughout Europe. No one

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Speaker 4: understood the concept of a black American. And so I

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Speaker 4: again wanted to a make sure that other girls that

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Speaker 4: looked like me knew that this was not something that

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Speaker 4: was only designated for a certain type of people, whether

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Speaker 4: that be around race, class, et cetera. And then I

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Speaker 4: also knew that my family had a really hard time

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Speaker 4: understanding the point as well, and so that was another

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Speaker 4: reason why I thought it was important to again on

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Speaker 4: both sides, make sure that people are educated and aware

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Speaker 4: that travel is more than just a vacation. It truly

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Speaker 4: is a transformative learning experience.

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Speaker 3: I totally agree.

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Speaker 1: And Rachel, as a student, what work do you do

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Speaker 1: through Girls Going Global?

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Speaker 4: I go to film in college. There's this filming chapter

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Speaker 4: of Girls Going Global, and I'm the Girls Going Global liaison,

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Speaker 4: So I work directly with ms Martis as well as

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Speaker 4: the other executive director and all the members of the

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Speaker 4: team in order to get girls more involved with GGG

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Speaker 4: national might as well as helped them understand the full

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Speaker 4: extent of what GGG is and understand the importance of

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Speaker 4: like travel for black women and black girls.

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Speaker 1: And where has studying abroad taken you? What were your

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Speaker 1: perceptions before your time abroad.

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Speaker 4: My perceptions for me personally was a little bit different.

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Speaker 4: Both of my parents were a military brat, so they

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Speaker 4: moved around a lot, and they wanted me to have

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Speaker 4: that perspective to be able to see the world. There

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Speaker 4: was cultural differ diferences. I'm from up North, so moving

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Speaker 4: from up north to down south, there was a cultural

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Speaker 4: difference going out of the country. I was like, Oh, yeah,

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Speaker 4: do a lot of things differently. For example, when I

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Speaker 4: went to Italy with GIGG, I wasn't used to having

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Speaker 4: to pay to use the bathroom. I was like, Oh,

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Speaker 4: we have to pay to use the bathroom, but you

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Speaker 4: have to pay for water, you have to pay for

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Speaker 4: the minor things. That was like a really big cultural

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Speaker 4: difference for me that I didn't necessarily understand. I was like, oh,

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Speaker 4: we just used together, Like what do you mean? So

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Speaker 4: that was like really big for me. I think my

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Speaker 4: perception as a whole. It just broadened it to understand

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Speaker 4: that not everyone is in the same situation as you.

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Speaker 4: A lot of Americans, I feel like when we travel

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Speaker 4: outside of the US, it's been a titlement type of thing,

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Speaker 4: Like we expect other countries or other people in other

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Speaker 4: countries to speak English, but when you go to another country,

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Speaker 4: you should want to adapt to their language. I think

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Speaker 4: that was a big cultural difference to try and learn

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Speaker 4: and adapt to the languages that were there as well.

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Speaker 3: No, totally.

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Speaker 1: I remember when I traveled to Copenhang and Denmark, and

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Speaker 1: I remember member going to Denmark and having to take

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Speaker 1: a step back and recognize, oh, y'all prioritized biking over

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Speaker 1: cars here. That is something that you had to sit

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Speaker 1: in the culture and just remember that you're a visitor

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Speaker 1: of this country and your perceptions are valid, but just

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Speaker 1: also recognize that this is their culture.

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Speaker 3: So I totally see your point with that. And Martisse,

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Speaker 3: you mentioned traveling to Barcelona. What did you wish you

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Speaker 3: knew before stepping foot in your first foreign country.

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Speaker 4: I wish I knew about how often people from the

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Speaker 4: continent of Africa traveled, because I was super unfamiliar with that.

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Speaker 4: One of the stereotypes in Barcelona, specifically for African women

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Speaker 4: was that they were prostitutes, and so there was a

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Speaker 4: huge misconception and oftentimes people would think I was a prostitute,

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Speaker 4: and I had no idea about that perception about that myth.

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Speaker 4: I knew nothing about it. So I wish that in

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Speaker 4: doing my research, and that's why I think it's important

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Speaker 4: to beyond doing research on a country, like also trying

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Speaker 4: to find out more about the diaspora within said country

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Speaker 4: and being more aware of how Black Americans specifically and

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Speaker 4: or other black diasport communities are accepted and treated in

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Speaker 4: a different country, so that was one thing that really

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Speaker 4: took me by surprise.

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Speaker 1: Wow, can you walk us through the options and the

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Speaker 1: programs available to students who want to study abroad?

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Speaker 4: Yeah. So I always put study abroad or international travel

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Speaker 4: experiences for college students in three buckets. So I say

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Speaker 4: their study abroad, you can interurn abroad. You can also

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Speaker 4: volunteer abroad, And so you would do your research based

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Speaker 4: on which bucket would you like to be a part of,

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Speaker 4: researching internship programs versus study abroad programs versus volunteer programs,

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Speaker 4: And that will also come into how much time do

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Speaker 4: you have available, and so you're typically going to speak

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Speaker 4: to your college of mind. You're going to speak to

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Speaker 4: your Study Abroad office to find out what those options are.

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Speaker 4: And some of the things you should be mindful of

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Speaker 4: are your major, what requirements your school has, what programs

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Speaker 4: are accepted by your school, what courses will actually get

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Speaker 4: credit versus those that will be just for you to

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Speaker 4: explore on your own, and also thinking about the location.

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Speaker 4: The general idea when you're thinking about programs are what

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Speaker 4: do you want to get out of it? Do you

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Speaker 4: want to solely study, do you want to study and

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Speaker 4: have an internship experience and or do you want to

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Speaker 4: have a volunteer element a part of your time abroad

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Speaker 4: as well?

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Speaker 1: Definitely, And what advice do you have for students trying

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Speaker 1: to choose what country they would like to go to

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Speaker 1: for their study about experience, Like what sorts of things

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Speaker 1: should they be considering when picking a program.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, so back in my day, I just knew I

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Speaker 4: was studying abroad in Italy, like that was where I

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Speaker 4: was going. And then my advisor was like, blue, but

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Speaker 4: your language is Spanish and so I couldn't. It was

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Speaker 4: like it was just as simple as that. It was

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Speaker 4: just like, you cannot go anywhere that's not a Spanish

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Speaker 4: speaking country. So the first thing is being aware of

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Speaker 4: again what those requirements are. And so I landed on

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Speaker 4: Barcelona because it was in Europe, and I knew I

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Speaker 4: could still get to Italy if I studied abroad in Barcelona.

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Speaker 4: And I was also at the time very interested in

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Speaker 4: traveling throughout Europe, which for a lot of students that's

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Speaker 4: typically what they're looking to do when they have a

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Speaker 4: study of broad experience. So when choosing your destination, think

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Speaker 4: about what parts of the world would you like to

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Speaker 4: explore more of and what are the countries that could

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Speaker 4: be surrounding that you could also travel to if that's

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Speaker 4: something that you want to do. So A, that's one component.

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Speaker 4: B Again it's around your major and your requirements. So

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Speaker 4: different majors have different courses that have to be done

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Speaker 4: by a certain time, and that would influence what country

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Speaker 4: you would participate in. And then lastly, I would say

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Speaker 4: your destination could be based off of the type of

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Speaker 4: experience you want. So if you want to study abroad

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Speaker 4: and you want to go to an actual university instead country,

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Speaker 4: maybe that's only available in Morocco, right, and so you

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Speaker 4: would have to choose Morocco versus. If you're open to

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Speaker 4: being able to do something where it's a program and

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Speaker 4: they have like a campus or a learning center, then

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Speaker 4: that might widen you up to be able to go

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Speaker 4: to Amsterdam, go to Ghana, go to a couple different places,

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Speaker 4: but you're not going to be on a university campus.

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Speaker 4: So those are the type of things I would say

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Speaker 4: you should look for in deciding on your country. And

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Speaker 4: today I will say that the study of broad locations

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Speaker 4: have become more diverse. Again. Once upon a time Europe

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Speaker 4: with all the craze, but I'm excited to see that

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Speaker 4: there are more students, especially students of color, that are

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Speaker 4: exploring the continent of Africa that are doing Southeast Asia.

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Speaker 4: I would encourage people to step outside their comfort zones

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Speaker 4: a little more and go further out. To miss Martisa's point,

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Speaker 4: I would definitely say just go out of your comfort zone.

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Speaker 4: I feel like a lot of the places that I

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Speaker 4: have gratefully been, I was not interested in that first.

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Speaker 4: I felt like it was just like, Oh, I'm just go.

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Speaker 4: Let me just see what it's talking about over there,

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Speaker 4: how they treat Black American people. I think it's also

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Speaker 4: just having that notion of curiosity in general. That's what's

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Speaker 4: good for study abroad. I think it's all about the experience.

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Speaker 4: You never know when it's going to be the right

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Speaker 4: time to go and or if it's going to be

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Speaker 4: the right country until you go. You have to experience

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Speaker 4: it for yourself. So I think that's like one of

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Speaker 4: the biggest things, at least for me, that I could

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Speaker 4: say to anyone else that wants to try and study abroad,

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Speaker 4: is to just try it and go. It's always just

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Speaker 4: an experience. You could hate it, love it, but you still.

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Speaker 1: Went right and I definitely agree with the point to

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Speaker 1: consider a country where you can travel to other countries

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Speaker 1: in a easy fashion. Like when I went to Copenhagen,

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Speaker 1: Sweden was right nearby, so we were able to travel

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Speaker 1: to Sweden for the day, have a day in Sweden,

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Speaker 1: learn Swedish culture, talk to locals, and then pop right

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Speaker 1: back over to Copenhagen in one program. So I really

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Speaker 1: appreciate that experience because I have two more countries at

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Speaker 1: it to my docket, so it was really cool.

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Speaker 4: And like even when I was in Barcelona, for example,

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Speaker 4: so my best friend studied abroad in Rome, so I

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Speaker 4: went to Italy to visit her. Then we went to

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Speaker 4: the Beyonce concert in London, and then we did like

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Speaker 4: Halloween and Amsterdam, so we did a lot of bouncing around.

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Speaker 4: That is always the cool thing about Europe. I will

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Speaker 4: also add because I think Rachel brought up a good

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Speaker 4: point about you won't know until you're there, and so

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Speaker 4: my actual first experience out the country was actually the

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Speaker 4: South Africa, and I did not enjoy myself, and so

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Speaker 4: I studied abroad still thinking that like I'm going to

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Speaker 4: have this transformative travel experience, right, because when you hear

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Speaker 4: about study abroad. Everybody's like it's life changing, and I

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Speaker 4: just felt like this was not happening for me. So

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Speaker 4: even once I went to Barcelona, I overall had a

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Speaker 4: good experience, but I was ready to go, Like I

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Speaker 4: remember that two months I want to say it was

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Speaker 4: like a month or two months before my program was over.

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Speaker 4: I was packed up ready, like I was ready to

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Speaker 4: get out of there. And again I didn't hate Barcelona,

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Speaker 4: but once I was there, I did realize this is

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Speaker 4: not exactly the country I would choose again to stay

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Speaker 4: for four plus months. However, a thing to also keep

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Speaker 4: in mind is this goes back to choosing your program. Right.

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Speaker 4: So I chose to do a homestay versus having an

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Speaker 4: apartment versus staying at a dorm, and those things matter.

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Speaker 4: And my best friend did a homestay, but she stayed

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Speaker 4: with a family, so she had a mother, a father,

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Speaker 4: and two children in her home, which was a completely

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Speaker 4: different experience than me, who I had one older woman

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Speaker 4: who only spoke Spanish. The pro to that was that

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Speaker 4: I had to learn Spanish because she only spoke Spanish.

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Speaker 4: The con to that was she was an older woman

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Speaker 4: and she had rules, and the one rule she had

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Speaker 4: that used to wear us out was you could not

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Speaker 4: cook in her kitchen, like at all. She refused to

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Speaker 4: let you cook in her kitchen, but she made all

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Speaker 4: our meals and she wasn't a great cook. So again,

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Speaker 4: I feel like that's a prime example of how even

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Speaker 4: me choosing how I was gonna live with this person

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Speaker 4: was a different experience than my friends that were there

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Speaker 4: that stayed in an apartment versus those who stayed in

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Speaker 4: a dorm. So I also want to throw that out

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Speaker 4: there and say that I don't think it was just

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Speaker 4: the country. I think the program I chose also influenced

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Speaker 4: the experience that I did.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, thank y'all for walking me through that.

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Speaker 2: Hi, I'm sorrya Taylor, and I'm the TBG podcast production intern.

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Speaker 2: We'll return to Jana right after the break.

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Speaker 1: So we know many students face financial barriers when thinking

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Speaker 1: about studying abroad. Do you have any recommended strategies that

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Speaker 1: you give to students facing these challenges?

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Speaker 4: The first thing I always say is really understanding the

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Speaker 4: cost to study abroad, because there's a misconception that study

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Speaker 4: abroad is super expensive, and oftentimes the tuition is cheaper

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Speaker 4: than your university or college in the US, and so

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Speaker 4: it's important to make sure that you're clear on the

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Speaker 4: numbers before for you just rule yourself out or before

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Speaker 4: you decide that it's gonna be this heavy burden. So

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Speaker 4: first starting with that, and then secondly, like most things,

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Speaker 4: in all things, you should always be looking for scholarship opportunities,

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Speaker 4: fellowship opportunities. There's the Gilman scholars Program, which covers your

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Speaker 4: full study abroad experience. I did the iss HBCU Abroad Scholarship.

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Speaker 4: There's a scholarship with Diversity Abroad, and that's a really

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Speaker 4: great resource for students of color to go to. And

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Speaker 4: there's a whole database of international education scholarship. So I

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Speaker 4: would definitely say that should be your first two strategies.

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Speaker 4: And then lastly, asking for help, like asking your family

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Speaker 4: and friends, doing a crowdsourcing campaign. You'd be surprised how

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Speaker 4: many people are willing to contribute when you can share

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Speaker 4: your experience with them. So those are some of the

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Speaker 4: things that I've done over the years of me traveling,

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Speaker 4: whether it's been an undergrad or even when you know,

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Speaker 4: I had my first job abroad in India and I

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Speaker 4: did a crowdfunding campaign to get my flight back to

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Speaker 4: the un and that was something I had never done before,

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Speaker 4: but it worked. So I would say, just put yourself

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Speaker 4: out there and in all ways, and you never know

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Speaker 4: what can come back to you. I would say the

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Speaker 4: same specifically asking for family or friends at my school specifically,

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Speaker 4: they email a lot about scholarships for study abroad or

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Speaker 4: just in general, like if you're going to do a

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Speaker 4: semester abroad, here's the way that you could pay for

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Speaker 4: the break for down a payment plan, How this could

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Speaker 4: be added, how this could be taken away. I think

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Speaker 4: that's very important, Like miss Bartiz said, understanding the entire cost,

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Speaker 4: because it's not just the flight to get over there

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Speaker 4: to get back, it's the trinkets that you want to buy,

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Speaker 4: the food if it's not included already, So you know

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Speaker 4: yourself better than anybody else, and knowing that if you're

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Speaker 4: very like oh, I want to buy this as a third,

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Speaker 4: make sure you have the funds to cover that. Asking

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Speaker 4: for help from other people or you work, if you

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Speaker 4: work in school or anything like that. I think that's

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Speaker 4: also really important to about today. Yeah, I think that's

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Speaker 4: also a great point. And another thing that I mentioned

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Speaker 4: how I talked about how you can intern abroad, you

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Speaker 4: can work abroad. Those are also ways to fund your experiences.

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Speaker 4: So maybe you're somebody who you don't have the opportunity

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Speaker 4: to actually study abroad, whether it's due to cost, your major, whatever,

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Speaker 4: then maybe you will focus on having a postgraduate experience.

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Speaker 4: So that might look like doing a research fellowship, that

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Speaker 4: might look like teaching abroad, but you create ways for

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Speaker 4: it to pay you. And that's something that has been

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Speaker 4: very successful and lucrative for a lot of students, particularly

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Speaker 4: those that decide to teach abroad. But there are tons

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Speaker 4: of fellowships. Always look up international fellowships and your major

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Speaker 4: specifically or whatever your industry is, internships, and then also

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Speaker 4: teaching abroad.

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Speaker 1: I know for my school I went to UNC Chapel Hill,

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Speaker 1: there were specific scholarships for students of color, and so

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Speaker 1: it's really important for students to also consider.

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Speaker 3: Those scholarships, like they want.

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Speaker 1: Students of color to travel abroad, and so that's literally

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Speaker 1: your ticket to success right there. So that's making sure

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Speaker 1: that you're like Rachel and ms Martis said, like going

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Speaker 1: through the specific channels you need to find money, Like

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Speaker 1: the bag is there, you just have to find it sometimes.

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Speaker 1: So now let's talk about some common misconceptions about settying abroad.

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Speaker 1: So sometimes when people studying abroad, they see it as

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Speaker 1: an opportunity to go on vacation through their school.

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Speaker 3: What goes into a study abroad experience?

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Speaker 4: I would say, first, it's kind of in the name

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Speaker 4: study study heavy on the study abroad. I think a

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Speaker 4: lot of it, at least through GGG, we focus on

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Speaker 4: a lot of cultural immersion and volunteer experience and community service,

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Speaker 4: so it's very imperative that we actually learn the culture

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Speaker 4: when we go to these places. A couple of my

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Speaker 4: friends have studied abroad in Europe, have visited multiple countries

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Speaker 4: within Europe. However, they still had work to do and

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Speaker 4: that was done first before they were able to go

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Speaker 4: to all these different places. It can be a vacation

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Speaker 4: on the weekend, but you still have to get your

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Speaker 4: work done eventually. So I think that's like one of

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Speaker 4: the biggest misconceptions when it comes to like study abroad

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Speaker 4: and being seniors. A vacation on social media is different

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Speaker 4: than what it is in real life. So yeah, also

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Speaker 4: study abroad, I think there's a misconception that it's easy

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Speaker 4: in terms of like your actual study element like your classes.

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Speaker 4: People think that you're going over there and that all

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Speaker 4: your classes are going to be easy, and that is

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Speaker 4: not true. So again that's why you need to do

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Speaker 4: a lot of research on your program. I myself thought

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Speaker 4: that I was going to be able to go to Barcelona.

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Speaker 4: I was like, I'm going to raise my GPA, and

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Speaker 4: I didn't think it was going to be easy, but

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Speaker 4: I definitely expected it to be like comfortable. And let

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Speaker 4: me tell y'all, I had to earn every grade I

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Speaker 4: got over there, Like the B that I got, I

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Speaker 4: was still in somebody's office hours. I was still getting tutoring,

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Speaker 4: like I had to work hard for the grades that

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Speaker 4: I did get. And so I do think that's a

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Speaker 4: huge misconception. And people get over there, they mess around,

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Speaker 4: they come back, they drop their GPA, and they're in

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Speaker 4: a whole whirlwind of like the ripple effect of what

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Speaker 4: happens when your grades aren't where they're supposed to be.

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Speaker 4: So you do want to be mindful of not taken

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Speaker 4: study abroad as an opportunity to just play to that point.

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Speaker 4: I'm a STEM major, so my best experiences is studying

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Speaker 4: abroad are during the breaks because my STEM classes you

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Speaker 4: can't take the best set in the US, at least

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Speaker 4: for my specific course curriculum. So it's like a little

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Speaker 4: difficult even if I'm getting the credit. I'm getting the

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Speaker 4: credit for my English class, so I'm getting the credits

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Speaker 4: for my comparative woman Studies class. But it's still gonna

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Speaker 4: be hard because the thought processes is completely different and

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Speaker 4: it challenges you in a different way. So I think

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Speaker 4: that's also like one of the purpose of doing study

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Speaker 4: abroad because it challenges you in a different way you

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Speaker 4: never would have thought.

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Speaker 1: I also think what's interesting about the difficulty is that

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Speaker 1: you're in another country, Like it's going to take a

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Speaker 1: toll on your mental health. And so while you're balancing

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Speaker 1: new coursework, you're balancing new classmates, you're also balancing an

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Speaker 1: entire different environment. Also, in my program, it was like

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Speaker 1: we had class all day and then we had an

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Speaker 1: emerging experience in the afternoon, and so that's really draining,

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Speaker 1: and so it's also exhausting at points, and so I

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Speaker 1: thought that was the hardest part about child being abroad

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Speaker 1: was like, Okay, I'm tired, Like I want to take

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Speaker 1: a nap, I have work, I have papers to write,

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Speaker 1: but I'm tired, I'm exhausted, and I'm trying to immerse

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Speaker 1: myself in this news space. So all of that combinedent

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Speaker 1: was really hard for me personally.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, that's so true.

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Speaker 1: So I'm curious, are there any countries that are quote

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Speaker 1: unquote unsafe for black women and girls?

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Speaker 3: What does that even mean?

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Speaker 4: You know, I'm always hesitant about that because I truly

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Speaker 4: do not believe in generalizing countries or like demonizing countries either.

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Speaker 4: And so I tend to feel that the same way

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Speaker 4: that a woman, a black woman has to be mindful

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Speaker 4: in most major cities in America, I would say you

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Speaker 4: would have to have that same level of consciousness in

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Speaker 4: any major city around the world, right, And so I

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Speaker 4: do think that certain countries get a bad rep But

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Speaker 4: it is true that you should be mindful in certain countries.

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Speaker 4: So of course those that might be Middle Eastern countries,

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Speaker 4: I would even say some countries in Southeast Asia. There's

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Speaker 4: different countries in Africa where you need to be a

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Speaker 4: little bit more mindful of your dress, mindful of your mannerism,

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Speaker 4: so making sure you're looking into local customs. But quite frankly,

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Speaker 4: even as Rachel mentioned, we've had girls that have been

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Speaker 4: in Rome and still felt like they experienced racism. I

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Speaker 4: still felt like I experienced racism in Barcelona. I feel

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Speaker 4: like I experienced racism in India. I have experienced racism

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Speaker 4: in every country that I have visited. I have experienced

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Speaker 4: racism in South Africa, but it just looked different because

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Speaker 4: that's a colonize country, and so it was more so

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Speaker 4: just more of that that was going on around classism

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Speaker 4: and colorism more so than like overt racism. So I

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Speaker 4: think for black women and for black travelers, what we

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00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:51,040
Speaker 4: have to know is that there are things that are

437
00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:53,480
Speaker 4: going to follow us or that are going to happen

438
00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:57,200
Speaker 4: wherever we are. But I wouldn't let that stop you

439
00:22:57,359 --> 00:23:00,439
Speaker 4: from having experiences because just as much much as I

440
00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:03,560
Speaker 4: had all those experiences in different countries, I've also had

441
00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:08,399
Speaker 4: experiences of warmness of pleasantries in every country that I

442
00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:11,800
Speaker 4: visited as well. So I don't like to put anything

443
00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:15,359
Speaker 4: out there as unsafe or anything like that. I think

444
00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:18,640
Speaker 4: you can have these experiences anywhere for sure.

445
00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:21,520
Speaker 1: Thank you for breaking that down. We know that some

446
00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:26,080
Speaker 1: parents are weary about traveling abroad, So what can students

447
00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:28,760
Speaker 1: tell their parents who may be hesitant about letting them

448
00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:32,240
Speaker 1: travel to another country because of safety concerns.

449
00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:36,120
Speaker 4: I would say specifically, usually with study abroad, you're going

450
00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:39,000
Speaker 4: in a group. It's not just you. So I think

451
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:41,240
Speaker 4: that's like a really big thing for parents is that

452
00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:44,159
Speaker 4: they're not going by themselves, and at least in the

453
00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:47,880
Speaker 4: summer experiences, usually there is a chaperone or there's going

454
00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:50,600
Speaker 4: to be an adult or I mean, I guess we're

455
00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:55,159
Speaker 4: considered adults, but an actual adult present in those instances.

456
00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:59,080
Speaker 4: So if there was anything needed or really necessary to

457
00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:00,880
Speaker 4: call our contact your child, like.

458
00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:02,159
Speaker 3: You will be okay.

459
00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:05,919
Speaker 4: And I think it's also just learning to let go

460
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,120
Speaker 4: a little bit and like let your child have freedom,

461
00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:10,920
Speaker 4: let them experience the world in a different light. That's

462
00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:12,960
Speaker 4: what I personally have to my parents. But like I

463
00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:16,480
Speaker 4: said before, my parents were military brads and they were

464
00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:18,960
Speaker 4: a little bit more comfortable with me going abroad. But

465
00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:21,879
Speaker 4: it also was because I was going with groups like

466
00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:24,439
Speaker 4: Girls going Global, that if anything was to happen to me,

467
00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:26,119
Speaker 4: I would be okay. And nine times out of ten

468
00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:30,240
Speaker 4: that is what's the case. Also, I think that people

469
00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:33,000
Speaker 4: that wanted to persuade their parents to help them study

470
00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:35,400
Speaker 4: abroad is to help them learn or like you could

471
00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:37,000
Speaker 4: U say, oh, it's it gonna be a GPA booster,

472
00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:39,399
Speaker 4: or just like I don't want to say it for this,

473
00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:41,399
Speaker 4: but like just the case it's gonna be a GPA

474
00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:45,040
Speaker 4: booster or get them a little bit more excited. A

475
00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:47,400
Speaker 4: lot of Black American students are wanting to go back

476
00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:49,399
Speaker 4: to Africa and travel different countries Africa.

477
00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:49,960
Speaker 3: I'm going to.

478
00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,159
Speaker 4: Learn more about my roots and stuff like that. I

479
00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:54,560
Speaker 4: feel like a lot of more parents are going for

480
00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:57,040
Speaker 4: that to understand who they are as people. So I

481
00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:59,479
Speaker 4: think that's both a good experience.

482
00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:02,360
Speaker 1: Also like letting them know like I'll bring you back something,

483
00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:05,320
Speaker 1: I'll bring you back, but you know what I mean,

484
00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:08,199
Speaker 1: I think that could be an encouraging thing. RTC have

485
00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:09,240
Speaker 1: anything to add to that too.

486
00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:13,360
Speaker 4: I mean I think also including your parents in the experience, right,

487
00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:17,280
Speaker 4: So one making sure that they have all the information.

488
00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:19,040
Speaker 4: So I think when you can come to your parents

489
00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:21,359
Speaker 4: and you can say, hey, this is the program, this

490
00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:23,720
Speaker 4: is the contact information. When they have all of that,

491
00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:26,080
Speaker 4: that already creates a different level of ease because they

492
00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:28,360
Speaker 4: can already trust in you, right, they can trust that

493
00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:32,040
Speaker 4: you've done due diligence and you're prepared to be adult

494
00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:33,840
Speaker 4: and be a leader and take care of yourself while

495
00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:36,600
Speaker 4: you're abroad. A lot of times I've had friends who

496
00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:39,720
Speaker 4: have had their parents come over for different holidays. They've

497
00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:42,080
Speaker 4: had their parents come over to drop them off the

498
00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:44,480
Speaker 4: same way they would if they were going to school. Now,

499
00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:47,200
Speaker 4: in my case, I didn't have that, and there were

500
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:48,720
Speaker 4: a lot of times where I was not a part

501
00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:51,159
Speaker 4: of a group, where I was going by myself. That

502
00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,000
Speaker 4: was different than Rachel's experience, and I think in those

503
00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:57,200
Speaker 4: types of situations, again, there does have to be an

504
00:25:57,280 --> 00:26:00,280
Speaker 4: emphasis on your parent trusting you and your decision and

505
00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:02,640
Speaker 4: how you're able to navigate, and I think you show

506
00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:05,679
Speaker 4: that and how you operate even being in college. So

507
00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:08,879
Speaker 4: I was away. I was in Atlanta. My family is

508
00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:11,440
Speaker 4: from Philadelphia, So if you're in the same city as

509
00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:14,719
Speaker 4: your family, this might not exactly apply, but how you

510
00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:17,600
Speaker 4: carry yourself in your day to day life and how

511
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:20,639
Speaker 4: you make decisions and navigate college it would be translated

512
00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:23,400
Speaker 4: into your study your broad experience as well. So those

513
00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:25,439
Speaker 4: are some things that I think you should think about

514
00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:28,640
Speaker 4: when pitching it to your parents and making sure that

515
00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:31,560
Speaker 4: they're on board for the experience. But I also think

516
00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,879
Speaker 4: that today, it's so different, Like the landscape has changed

517
00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:37,080
Speaker 4: so much in ten years, and today I feel like

518
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:40,320
Speaker 4: most parents are advocating for their students to go abroad.

519
00:26:40,359 --> 00:26:43,399
Speaker 4: When it was my turn, everybody didn't understand why, Like

520
00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:45,040
Speaker 4: it was just like, why do you need to go

521
00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:48,560
Speaker 4: to India for what? Today, I feel like there are

522
00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:51,880
Speaker 4: more parents that are pushing their children to have these

523
00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:54,840
Speaker 4: types of experiences. Now I do believe there are still

524
00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:57,240
Speaker 4: black families that are like, why are you going to India? Though?

525
00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:00,440
Speaker 4: You know, but I mean again, it's not as hard

526
00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:01,720
Speaker 4: of a sale as it once was.

527
00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:05,640
Speaker 1: Right, not totally a great those are great points. It's

528
00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:09,480
Speaker 1: natural to want to explore outside of the study of

529
00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:12,919
Speaker 1: rock curriculum. What are some safety tips for students in

530
00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:15,320
Speaker 1: a foreign country for the first time.

531
00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:17,520
Speaker 4: Yeah, I feel like it's kind of the same as

532
00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:21,320
Speaker 4: operating in America as a black person and a black

533
00:27:21,359 --> 00:27:25,120
Speaker 4: woman specifically, you just have to be on your p's

534
00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:27,320
Speaker 4: and q's, Like you have to look around, so also

535
00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:29,639
Speaker 4: looking into the policies and doing research. They don't allow

536
00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:33,520
Speaker 4: like mace or any type of bear spread anything like that,

537
00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:36,280
Speaker 4: So if you need to, you know, have a little

538
00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:39,520
Speaker 4: quote unquote weapon or something to defend yourself. An umbrella

539
00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:42,560
Speaker 4: works fine. I think that's also like something that you

540
00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:44,600
Speaker 4: can use. I guess safety tip if you were like

541
00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:47,840
Speaker 4: walking somewhere alone but also trying to make friends, and

542
00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:51,120
Speaker 4: from my experience personally going with a group. Go somewhere

543
00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:53,520
Speaker 4: with the group their strength in numbers. It's not just

544
00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:57,280
Speaker 4: by yourself. That's like really important when you're going to

545
00:27:57,320 --> 00:27:59,560
Speaker 4: a new place, if you're by yourself, like I said,

546
00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:01,840
Speaker 4: use them. Are just knowing your piece of queues. And

547
00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:05,240
Speaker 4: also now with technology, there's find my iPhone or any

548
00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:07,800
Speaker 4: type of location app, so you can pin your location

549
00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:10,520
Speaker 4: I know, but doing research, there's a way that you

550
00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:13,520
Speaker 4: can dial the police or whatever the safety patrol is

551
00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:16,600
Speaker 4: in that area on your phone without having service. So

552
00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:19,000
Speaker 4: if you feel like you're in danger, you're uncomfortable, you're

553
00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:21,880
Speaker 4: able to call those people and be like, hey, I'm

554
00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:23,400
Speaker 4: not from here, I don't really know where to go,

555
00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:26,960
Speaker 4: And in that sense, no like basic terminology. But I

556
00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:30,720
Speaker 4: think those are probably two or three things that are important. Yeah,

557
00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:35,120
Speaker 4: I think some key practical takeaways for anybody that's having

558
00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:38,040
Speaker 4: a first time travel experience is number one, making sure

559
00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:41,520
Speaker 4: that you register with the US State Department so you

560
00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:44,800
Speaker 4: can go to travel dot gov and you just register

561
00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:47,800
Speaker 4: saying that Hey, I'm Martisa and I'm gonna be in Belize.

562
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:49,680
Speaker 4: I'm gonna be there from these states to these states.

563
00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:53,160
Speaker 4: And why that's important is because if there's any major

564
00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:56,320
Speaker 4: emergency that happens in another country, like let's say there's

565
00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:59,160
Speaker 4: a hurricane or an earthquake or whatever, the US knows

566
00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:01,560
Speaker 4: how many US citizens are in said country, and you

567
00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:04,200
Speaker 4: want to make sure that you're registered so that when

568
00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:07,240
Speaker 4: they're evacuating people, they can say, like this person Martisse

569
00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:09,840
Speaker 4: has not checked in yet saying that they're here to

570
00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:12,520
Speaker 4: be evacuated, So you want to do that. That's number one.

571
00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:15,640
Speaker 4: Number two, you definitely want to have travel insurance, and

572
00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:18,560
Speaker 4: so you can look into your healthcare providers to see

573
00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:21,200
Speaker 4: what's already covered, but more than likely you need to

574
00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:24,520
Speaker 4: also get a separate policy, and so I always recommend

575
00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:28,080
Speaker 4: World Nomads. There's also a company called Alliance that you

576
00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:30,320
Speaker 4: might want to look into. So travel insurance would be

577
00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:32,560
Speaker 4: the second thing. The third thing that I think is

578
00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:35,880
Speaker 4: really important is I do suggest everybody have like a

579
00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:38,480
Speaker 4: credit card or some type of card that in the

580
00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,560
Speaker 4: case of emergency, you have money at your disposal. That

581
00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:43,960
Speaker 4: was one thing that I didn't have, and I never

582
00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:46,920
Speaker 4: had a situation where I did need it, but I

583
00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:50,080
Speaker 4: did realize like everybody else in my program had credit cards,

584
00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:52,480
Speaker 4: and working with Girls going Global, there have been several

585
00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:56,000
Speaker 4: times where we absolutely needed to have a credit card

586
00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,840
Speaker 4: available to be able to navigate different things like if

587
00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:01,520
Speaker 4: a country shuts down, if your flight is canceled and

588
00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:04,040
Speaker 4: you can't get your money back, if there's a flood

589
00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:05,600
Speaker 4: and you need a new hotel room, you know what

590
00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:08,320
Speaker 4: I mean, all those things that maybe you weren't able

591
00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:11,960
Speaker 4: to budget for but they're happening. And then other things

592
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,120
Speaker 4: that are just more qualitative are of course, like looking

593
00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:18,520
Speaker 4: at the local customs, traveling in groups, making sure that

594
00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:21,280
Speaker 4: you have things like a door stopper. It's funny that

595
00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:24,280
Speaker 4: Rachel mentioned the umbrella because that was definitely my weapon

596
00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:27,920
Speaker 4: of choice. So I mean, there are certain things to

597
00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:30,640
Speaker 4: just again making sure that you're aware of your surroundings,

598
00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,440
Speaker 4: looking up what the common scams are in set country,

599
00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:36,240
Speaker 4: Like every country has different scams that they're known for,

600
00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:38,719
Speaker 4: you should be aware of the top three scams that

601
00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:42,920
Speaker 4: tourists have faced in said country. Keeping your accommodations to

602
00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:45,440
Speaker 4: yourself when you meet people, even when it's a taxi

603
00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:47,120
Speaker 4: driver and stuff like you need to be a mindful

604
00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:49,200
Speaker 4: of like not being so quick to tell everybody like, oh,

605
00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:51,440
Speaker 4: I'm staying at the such and such, take your time

606
00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:54,080
Speaker 4: with that. And again with social media today even more

607
00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:56,520
Speaker 4: so being mindful of when you're tagging your location. So

608
00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:59,440
Speaker 4: those are some things that I would say are the

609
00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:02,440
Speaker 4: key things to think about when you're thinking about safety

610
00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:05,240
Speaker 4: as a woman and as a black woman in another country.

611
00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:07,120
Speaker 3: Those are amazing tips.

612
00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:13,720
Speaker 1: The one tip that I got was to be cautious

613
00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:18,200
Speaker 1: of how I dressed and so being in Copenhangen, the style.

614
00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:19,480
Speaker 3: Is very simple.

615
00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:23,880
Speaker 1: It's very quiet, it is not bright with colors, it's

616
00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:29,360
Speaker 1: not loud. And one thing that I noticed, like the

617
00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:31,120
Speaker 1: first couple of days of the commun being that I

618
00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:34,760
Speaker 1: was wearing like my quote unquote American clothing and instantly

619
00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:37,120
Speaker 1: people are like, oh, you're American, you're American, You're American,

620
00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:40,520
Speaker 1: You're American, and it put like a target on my back.

621
00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:43,800
Speaker 1: I mean, there's some things you can't like help, but

622
00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:46,240
Speaker 1: how you dress. But it's something that I took into

623
00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:48,680
Speaker 1: consideration and when I started to like dress and like

624
00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:52,160
Speaker 1: lending in just to make sure that I wasn't stepping

625
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:56,080
Speaker 1: on toes or just being too loud in a new country.

626
00:31:56,480 --> 00:31:58,800
Speaker 3: But I love all the tips that y'all gay. They're amazing.

627
00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:02,040
Speaker 4: That's why it's also important to immerse yourself and have

628
00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:06,600
Speaker 4: like local friends, because they also help you integrate into

629
00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:08,960
Speaker 4: the country and tell you those different types of things,

630
00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:11,080
Speaker 4: like they know what parts of the city are dangerous,

631
00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:14,000
Speaker 4: they know the common scams, they know how you should dress.

632
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:17,160
Speaker 4: So that's why you definitely should try to meet and

633
00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:18,240
Speaker 4: befriend local people.

634
00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:21,560
Speaker 1: So what are some thing students often forget to bring

635
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:24,720
Speaker 1: one studying abroad? What did you wish that you would

636
00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:26,280
Speaker 1: have packed that you didn't.

637
00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:30,320
Speaker 4: Okay, adaptor to like the outlets and stuff. I think

638
00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:34,480
Speaker 4: that's very important. I am grateful enough I remember that

639
00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:36,880
Speaker 4: I packed it last minute. But one thing I will

640
00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:39,880
Speaker 4: say in Europe, I know in a lot of Black

641
00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:44,600
Speaker 4: American culture we use wash cloths. In Europe, there is

642
00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:47,160
Speaker 4: no wash class. We got there and there was no

643
00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:50,600
Speaker 4: wash class, and I think that was very like bro like,

644
00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:53,560
Speaker 4: So what am I gonna use? That was one thing

645
00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:55,840
Speaker 4: that I was really upset. I didn't have a wash

646
00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:59,280
Speaker 4: cloth and a doctor. Sometimes usually when you travel, you

647
00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:01,800
Speaker 4: might want to have a water filter depending on where

648
00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:05,120
Speaker 4: you're going and if you can drink the water in

649
00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:08,200
Speaker 4: that country. I think that's also really important. I think

650
00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:10,720
Speaker 4: also like just having a camera also because sometimes your

651
00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:14,080
Speaker 4: phone it dies, or having a portable charger, that's very important.

652
00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:17,200
Speaker 4: Those are probably like my top couple of things. And

653
00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:21,600
Speaker 4: a carbon monoxide detector depending on where you're going as well.

654
00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:24,160
Speaker 4: That goes back to like the safety piece, being able

655
00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:27,040
Speaker 4: to make sure that there's no carbon monoxide in your room,

656
00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:29,440
Speaker 4: just to be safe on that end, and I think

657
00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:30,440
Speaker 4: that's also very fun.

658
00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:35,479
Speaker 1: But no, I for sure agree with the adapter. That

659
00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:39,320
Speaker 1: is an overlooked item. If you travel abroad without that

660
00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:42,000
Speaker 1: is I hope you have a friend that will lend

661
00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:44,640
Speaker 1: you one from the time that you're there. I think

662
00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:47,200
Speaker 1: one thing that I wish I would have brought is

663
00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:51,440
Speaker 1: definitely like a sleeping eye mask. Like in cop Hagen,

664
00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:55,000
Speaker 1: it got bright at like three am, so it was

665
00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:57,760
Speaker 1: already light outside and I wasn't used to that, So

666
00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:01,680
Speaker 1: making sure that you have an eyeba or something to

667
00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:04,400
Speaker 1: put over your face if the time zones are different,

668
00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:07,080
Speaker 1: you're not used to when the sun will rise. That

669
00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:09,640
Speaker 1: was an overlooked item that I wish I would have

670
00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:12,600
Speaker 1: had for sure, for tac I have anything to add.

671
00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:16,600
Speaker 4: If you create a packing list, you should be good.

672
00:34:16,640 --> 00:34:19,640
Speaker 4: But I will say one thing would be and this

673
00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:22,960
Speaker 4: would be based on your personality, but snacks, and I

674
00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:25,359
Speaker 4: think it also depends on how long you're gonna be going.

675
00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:28,839
Speaker 4: So when I studied abroad, this wasn't as important, but

676
00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,319
Speaker 4: when I was like going for a full year and

677
00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:33,640
Speaker 4: some change, I used to have my mom send me

678
00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:39,360
Speaker 4: care packages of different things like cereal, noodles, pop tarts,

679
00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:41,279
Speaker 4: all types of things that at home you probably find

680
00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:42,839
Speaker 4: yourself being like I don't want that, but then once

681
00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:44,680
Speaker 4: you get in another country, you're like, oh my god,

682
00:34:44,719 --> 00:34:47,680
Speaker 4: I wish I could just find some noodles right now.

683
00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:51,200
Speaker 4: And then in other countries it's super expensive. Like I

684
00:34:51,239 --> 00:34:53,640
Speaker 4: remember being in India and like if I want a cereal,

685
00:34:53,680 --> 00:34:55,400
Speaker 4: if I want an American cereal, it would be like

686
00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:59,200
Speaker 4: fifteen dollars a box. So it was important for me

687
00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:01,520
Speaker 4: to have those care packages from my mom. And even

688
00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:03,319
Speaker 4: when we travel with the girls, like a lot of

689
00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:06,399
Speaker 4: girls will pack their favorite snacks to get them through

690
00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:09,279
Speaker 4: the experience because for some people, you might have to

691
00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:11,800
Speaker 4: go over the hump of getting used to the food,

692
00:35:12,040 --> 00:35:14,600
Speaker 4: and so you need to have something that if you

693
00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:17,200
Speaker 4: decided that you can't eat anything right away, do you

694
00:35:17,239 --> 00:35:18,919
Speaker 4: have something in your bag that can hold you over?

695
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:20,359
Speaker 4: So I would throw that out there too.

696
00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:23,799
Speaker 3: Definitely bring some snacks for sure. That is a pro tip.

697
00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:28,640
Speaker 2: Hi, I'm SORRYA Taylor, and I'm the TBG podcast production intern.

698
00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:31,480
Speaker 2: We'll return to Jana right after the break.

699
00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:42,360
Speaker 1: When setting abroad, did you ever encounter students with the

700
00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:47,680
Speaker 1: savior slash superiority complex? How can one counteractice or check

701
00:35:47,760 --> 00:35:49,799
Speaker 1: themselves for this behavior.

702
00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:54,520
Speaker 4: I don't believe that I have experienced it directly or personally,

703
00:35:54,880 --> 00:35:58,239
Speaker 4: but I have seen it happen in my circles, I'll

704
00:35:58,280 --> 00:36:00,319
Speaker 4: say that. And I think where we see that happen

705
00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:03,160
Speaker 4: the most is during volunteer experiences.

706
00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:03,480
Speaker 2: Right.

707
00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:06,920
Speaker 4: So it's really important that when you go to communities

708
00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:11,120
Speaker 4: that a you're mindful of what type of sensitivities are

709
00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:13,680
Speaker 4: present and again knowing what type of local customs you

710
00:36:13,719 --> 00:36:16,200
Speaker 4: need to be mindful of. I think it's super important

711
00:36:16,239 --> 00:36:19,320
Speaker 4: that before you take pictures of people or record people,

712
00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:22,319
Speaker 4: that you ask for their permission. I think that's a

713
00:36:22,360 --> 00:36:24,640
Speaker 4: way that a lot of times people will snap a

714
00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:26,840
Speaker 4: picture of themselves doing service, and then they'll tell a

715
00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:31,080
Speaker 4: story about somebody without their consent and make huge generalizations

716
00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:34,600
Speaker 4: or perpetuate stereotypes. And I think that's something that all

717
00:36:34,719 --> 00:36:37,800
Speaker 4: people have to be mindful of when they're traveling throughout

718
00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:41,000
Speaker 4: the world. So I see saviorism show up the most

719
00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:43,920
Speaker 4: in volunteer projects. I feel like I see it the

720
00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:47,520
Speaker 4: most in countries that are deemed as third world. I

721
00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:51,440
Speaker 4: do think in terms of superiority, there is a notion

722
00:36:51,560 --> 00:36:54,640
Speaker 4: that Americans just truly walk around the world like we

723
00:36:54,719 --> 00:36:56,840
Speaker 4: are the greatest country in the world, and there is

724
00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:59,280
Speaker 4: a such thing as passport privilege, and I do believe

725
00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:02,000
Speaker 4: that Americans have passport privilege, Like you can look it

726
00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:05,240
Speaker 4: up online. There's a website around like the most powerful

727
00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:09,080
Speaker 4: passports to have in the world. And for Americans, it

728
00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:10,680
Speaker 4: is true. We're able to get in and out of

729
00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:13,440
Speaker 4: certain countries without a visa without much red tape in

730
00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:16,400
Speaker 4: a way that a lot of other countries cannot navigate.

731
00:37:16,719 --> 00:37:21,520
Speaker 4: And so I have experienced people go abroad and impose

732
00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:26,399
Speaker 4: their American ideologies on other people and it comes off

733
00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:28,680
Speaker 4: as superior because you're saying it as if this is

734
00:37:28,719 --> 00:37:30,560
Speaker 4: the right way to do it. And I guess where

735
00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:32,880
Speaker 4: I did have that experiences when I was in India

736
00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:35,359
Speaker 4: and one of my roommates she was British, and I mean,

737
00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:37,239
Speaker 4: I feel like everything about me saying this is going

738
00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:40,319
Speaker 4: to be like dating dn't because it's like British colonizer.

739
00:37:40,760 --> 00:37:45,560
Speaker 4: But she was very strong about the way things should go.

740
00:37:45,840 --> 00:37:48,600
Speaker 4: She was very like at home in my flat, you know,

741
00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:50,279
Speaker 4: like it was very like in my flat, we do

742
00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:52,320
Speaker 4: this is this, and my country we do this is this,

743
00:37:52,640 --> 00:37:55,480
Speaker 4: and not being open to the different ways that other

744
00:37:55,600 --> 00:37:57,640
Speaker 4: people live. And so those are things you should be

745
00:37:57,719 --> 00:37:59,839
Speaker 4: mindful of, not only when you're interacting with local people,

746
00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:02,320
Speaker 4: but even when you're interacting with other people in your programs.

747
00:38:02,440 --> 00:38:04,719
Speaker 4: Your way doesn't have to be the right way. And

748
00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:06,880
Speaker 4: that can go for if they're even from your country.

749
00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:09,640
Speaker 4: How somebody does their laundry and Memphis may not be

750
00:38:09,719 --> 00:38:11,600
Speaker 4: how you do it in Philly. So, you know, being

751
00:38:11,719 --> 00:38:15,759
Speaker 4: open to different types of people and their ways of life.

752
00:38:16,239 --> 00:38:18,520
Speaker 4: I think I said it before about like American people

753
00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:22,080
Speaker 4: coming into other countries and just expecting people to know

754
00:38:22,239 --> 00:38:25,960
Speaker 4: of English and not being receptive to the language. But

755
00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:28,360
Speaker 4: it also kind of goes into like being open minded

756
00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:31,760
Speaker 4: in general as to why you decided to study abroad Philly,

757
00:38:31,760 --> 00:38:32,839
Speaker 4: immersing yourself.

758
00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:33,000
Speaker 3: In the culture.

759
00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:34,680
Speaker 4: You didn't come here just to be like, oh, I'm

760
00:38:34,719 --> 00:38:37,600
Speaker 4: on vacation, or you shouldn't have went to just be like, oh,

761
00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:40,040
Speaker 4: I'm on vacation. It should be a way for you

762
00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:43,640
Speaker 4: to understand the culture and then go back to your

763
00:38:43,680 --> 00:38:46,360
Speaker 4: own country and have a different perspective and be like, Okay,

764
00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:48,480
Speaker 4: well they do things there that way and I'm like,

765
00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:50,480
Speaker 4: oh I like that, and then take that and adapt

766
00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:53,800
Speaker 4: because I always say America is a melting pot of cultures,

767
00:38:53,960 --> 00:38:56,040
Speaker 4: So if that's what it is, we need to be

768
00:38:56,120 --> 00:38:58,640
Speaker 4: able to be receptive to everything and then go over

769
00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:01,719
Speaker 4: and do the same. So yeah, and Rachel, that goes

770
00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:05,080
Speaker 4: back to safety too. Around language. It's also important that

771
00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:08,200
Speaker 4: whether you're traveling for vacation or not, it is important

772
00:39:08,239 --> 00:39:12,279
Speaker 4: that you know like a solid three things to say

773
00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:17,040
Speaker 4: and said language like help, thank you, hello, goodbye, noam

774
00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:19,440
Speaker 4: on one police and you can google this of like

775
00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:22,000
Speaker 4: keywords I should know. You should have a list that

776
00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:24,840
Speaker 4: you know when going to another country so that again

777
00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:27,880
Speaker 4: you're respectful, you're not coming off as superior, and then

778
00:39:27,880 --> 00:39:30,400
Speaker 4: you're also being safe. So I think those are things

779
00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:31,359
Speaker 4: to keep in mind as well.

780
00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:34,440
Speaker 3: I love all those tips are amazing.

781
00:39:35,080 --> 00:39:39,640
Speaker 1: So let's close with a fun one. What country is

782
00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:42,000
Speaker 1: on your twenty twenty four bucket list?

783
00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:46,799
Speaker 4: I would say Zimbabwe. I don't know why I did

784
00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:49,080
Speaker 4: this project in like second grade and I could never

785
00:39:49,120 --> 00:39:50,879
Speaker 4: get it out of my head and I just really

786
00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:51,520
Speaker 4: want to go see it.

787
00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:54,960
Speaker 3: I need to get on Zimbabwe TikTok or Zimbabwe Talk.

788
00:39:55,160 --> 00:39:55,800
Speaker 3: I need to see it.

789
00:39:57,120 --> 00:40:02,200
Speaker 1: I think for me the goal is I would say Thailand.

790
00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:04,560
Speaker 1: I want to go to Thailand really bad. I've been

791
00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:07,480
Speaker 1: on Thailand Talk and so a lot of my for

792
00:40:07,680 --> 00:40:10,800
Speaker 1: you page has been about Thailand and groups going and

793
00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:12,640
Speaker 1: friendship and all the things.

794
00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:14,000
Speaker 3: Martizo, what about you?

795
00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:18,480
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm also torn. I'm torn between like Southeast Asia,

796
00:40:18,719 --> 00:40:22,120
Speaker 4: like doing a Thailand, a Indonesia that's on my list

797
00:40:22,239 --> 00:40:24,480
Speaker 4: to like make that run because I didn't do that

798
00:40:24,560 --> 00:40:27,360
Speaker 4: when I was over there before. But I also have

799
00:40:27,520 --> 00:40:31,120
Speaker 4: been dying to get to Zanzibar. So those are my

800
00:40:31,480 --> 00:40:34,440
Speaker 4: bucket lists. Which is in Tanzania or Tanzania? I know

801
00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:36,919
Speaker 4: I said this in another country, So yeah, those would

802
00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:39,719
Speaker 4: be my bucket list places for this year.

803
00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:43,439
Speaker 1: Well, I'm hoping that we all get our dream trip

804
00:40:43,880 --> 00:40:46,640
Speaker 1: whenever it happens, but especially for this year.

805
00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:50,200
Speaker 3: So where can we keep up with y'all? What are

806
00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:51,680
Speaker 3: your social media handles?

807
00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:55,000
Speaker 4: Well, you can keep up with Girls Going Global at

808
00:40:55,160 --> 00:40:58,840
Speaker 4: Girlsgoingglobal dot org all one word. You can follow us

809
00:40:58,880 --> 00:41:02,359
Speaker 4: on Instagram at Girls Going Global. You can find us

810
00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:04,959
Speaker 4: on Facebook at Girls Going Global. If you can find

811
00:41:05,040 --> 00:41:07,920
Speaker 4: us on Twitter at Girls Going Global and so, our

812
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:12,399
Speaker 4: applications are open now for our high school and college experiences,

813
00:41:12,560 --> 00:41:15,120
Speaker 4: So if anybody is interested in that, again, you can

814
00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:18,200
Speaker 4: go to our website and apply. But yeah, Girls Going

815
00:41:18,239 --> 00:41:20,040
Speaker 4: Global is how you can find us all over the

816
00:41:20,080 --> 00:41:25,800
Speaker 4: internet GGG yes, and for Summon specifically, it's at GGG

817
00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:30,640
Speaker 4: dot Spellman So yes, GGG GGG.

818
00:41:32,200 --> 00:41:34,160
Speaker 3: Thank y'all so much for this conversation.

819
00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:36,640
Speaker 1: I learned a lot about traveling abroad and how to

820
00:41:36,680 --> 00:41:38,960
Speaker 1: stay safe and how to stay vigilant and prepare.

821
00:41:39,719 --> 00:41:43,560
Speaker 3: I appreciate this conversation so much, So thank you again, thank.

822
00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:46,440
Speaker 4: You, yes, thank you for having us. We're so excited.

823
00:41:50,239 --> 00:41:53,080
Speaker 1: I want to thank Rachel and Martis once again for

824
00:41:53,239 --> 00:41:56,160
Speaker 1: joining us for this episode. Class is over for now,

825
00:41:56,520 --> 00:41:59,399
Speaker 1: but before we dismiss here's some homework to take home

826
00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:03,239
Speaker 1: with you. Began researching what study a broad program you

827
00:42:03,440 --> 00:42:07,200
Speaker 1: like to apply for, whether it be a volunteer study

828
00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:11,200
Speaker 1: or work experience. Your college's Study Abroad office is a

829
00:42:11,280 --> 00:42:14,200
Speaker 1: great place to start. If you already committed to a

830
00:42:14,239 --> 00:42:17,719
Speaker 1: study a broad program, Begin creating your packing list to

831
00:42:17,880 --> 00:42:22,160
Speaker 1: make sure you aren't leaving out any essentials for safety.

832
00:42:22,719 --> 00:42:26,000
Speaker 1: Look into registering your study abroad trip with the US

833
00:42:26,120 --> 00:42:29,920
Speaker 1: State Department, as well as starting a travel insurance policy.

834
00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:33,200
Speaker 1: To learn more about the work Rachel and Martis are doing,

835
00:42:33,760 --> 00:42:36,480
Speaker 1: or to do more research on this topic, be sure

836
00:42:36,560 --> 00:42:40,880
Speaker 1: to visit Therapy for Blackgirls dot com, slash tvgu This

837
00:42:41,080 --> 00:42:45,200
Speaker 1: episode was produced by Elie Ellis and Zaria Taylor. Editing

838
00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:46,840
Speaker 1: is by Dennison Bradford.