Living out lessons

Posted by admin on Dec 1, 2009 in Academy | 0 comments

It is one thing to read about France’s William the Conqueror; it’s another thing altogether to learn about him while walking on the ramparts of his chateau. Parliament Hill becomes more than simply the seat of the Canadian Government when you are invited to an exclusive lunch in the Parliamentary Restaurant with two MPs.

You can hear about the Universidad de Salamanca (the oldest university in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe), or you can study there and truly appreciate the nearly 800-year-old school. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it can never accurately portray what it’s like to look out over Shanghai from the third-tallest tower in the world.

History comes alive when you’re walking on the D-Day beaches or touring Versailles. Paintings like The Coronation of Napoleon become more meaningful when you’re standing in awe in front of the 20 by 32 foot original. The architecture of the Salamanca Cathedral or El Escorial takes on new life when you see it, touch it and walk through it. Canadian politics make so much more sense when you’re meeting the people who make it all happen.

I’ve had the amazing opportunity of studying in places like France, Ottawa, Spain and China. Going on travel studies has been the best thing academically I could have ever done. You finish classes in a few weeks to lighten your semester load, the travel is easy and the group trips make it cost-effective, plus the “being there” aspect makes the course content supremely relevant and interesting. You bond with your classmates in a way that you never would sitting in a classroom, and in the fall you sound really cool when people ask how your summer was.
You can always read about history or business or cultures. With travel studies, you’re living it, breathing it, eating it. You’re learning so much more than just what your professor lectures on; you’re surrounded by it.