A tale of two students: Studying abroad and UCLA

UCLA’s study abroad programs allow students the opportunity to take courses at acclaimed universities around the world. However, UCLA also accepts foreign students who want to study in the United States. How are these two experiences different? How are they alike? Fourth-year history student Jake Battinga, who studied abroad in Germany, and neuroscience graduate student Jeppe Hertz, a Danish student studying at UCLA, offer their perspectives on studying abroad.

TRANSCRIPT:

CAMPBELL: Fourth-year history student Jake Battinga wanted to study German.

BATTINGA: I was always interested in Germanic languages. I also just really like Europe and wanted to travel there.

CAMPBELL: So he decided to study abroad.

BATTINGA: I studied abroad in the Germanic studies program, which went to Austria, in Vienna, and Germany, in Munich and Berlin.  I was going to go to summer school anyways, so I figured I might as well do it abroad.

CAMPBELL: But while there, Battinga found that there was much more to studying abroad than just, well, studying.

BATTINGA: It was a perfect combination of academic learning and actual experience. It turns it from simply an academic experience to a full-bodied experience where you can immerse yourself in a culture and history.

CAMPBELL: Battinga is one of thousands of UCLA students who study abroad each year. Students typically work with the Study Abroadoffice, which is run by UCLA’s International Education Office, in order to plan and organize their trip. Battinga made a deal with the office to finance his trip.

BATTINGA: So last year they had a scholarship program that offered to pay the full travel fee in exchange for being an outreach coordinator. Basically what that is, after you go on the trip, you help the Study Abroad office to promote outreach and your specific study abroad program.

CAMPBELL: So Battinga was able to pay for his trip in exchange for working in the Study Abroad office. Most students, however, can expect to pay about $8,000 to study in Germany for a summer. But what about students who come to UCLA from abroad? Students like neuroscience graduate student Jeppe Hertz?

HERTZ: I studied abroad here. I’m from Denmark. I wanted to try to live in a big city like L.A.

CAMPBELL: Hertz came from the University of Copenhagen to study at UCLA this year.

HERTZ: I think the quality of education here is great. You have good interaction with your professors.

CAMPBELL: He was able to come to UCLA through the University of California’s Education Abroad Program. The experience can be an expensive one: a quarter at UCLA can cost international students between $16,000 to $20,000. Some international students also struggle with adapting to a new culture as they grapple with a new language and new customs. But for Hertz the adjustment to American culture was fairly easy.

HERTZ: I’ve been visiting America a few times before, so I kinda knew what I was getting into. I don’t have big problems, I wouldn’t say. Everyday conversations, stuff like that, that’s no problem for me. The biggest challenge for me language-wise is definitely speaking in class.

CAMPBELL: So we have Jake Battinga, an American student who studied in Europe, and Jeppe Hertz, a European student studying in America. Despite their different destinations, they had similar impressions of the foreign culture. Here’s Battinga.

BATTINGA: The culture is very different in Germany and Austria. When you looked around, the Germans, even our age, weren’t on their phones, they really were connecting with their friends and their family and the people they were with. When I think back to Europe, that was what I loved to do most.

CAMPBELL: Battinga says that’s not something you would find in the US.

BATTINGA: If you go to an American cafe or coffee shop, you sit down, you’re texting, and you’re there for a few minutes.

CAMPBELL: Surely Hertz must have noticed this.

HERTZ: I think Americans are very open minded. They’re very friendly, which is very different, probably from Germany but definitely from Denmark. People in Denmark, they are not approaching you on the street, they are not initiating with a stranger, which is quite common here.

CAMPBELL: Maybe not. But he still enjoys the culture of Los Angeles.

HERTZ: I like all the options that you have here in L.A, for weekends you can go on hiking, you can watch new movies, you can have all kind of different foods. … I’m just excited about all the different opportunities you have here in L.A. And the beach is beautiful, of course.

CAMPBELL: Students interested in studying abroad typically work with a Study Abroad advisor like Maruicio Cobian, who graduated from UCLA in 2007 and now advises students in the Study Abroad office.

COBIAN: Once we identify specific programs for students, we can identify the coursework that’s offered there and we can give them guidelines as to what they are looking for. There’s different deadlines. There’s one mid-December, mid-February and one at the end of May, and they’re all based on countries.

CAMPBELL: The Study Abroad office hopes to encourage more students like Battinga and Hertz to sign up for study abroad programs. For Daily Bruin Radio, this is Chris Campbell.