The right time to move abroad

I read an article a few weeks ago in the New York Times about colleges who give high school seniors the option of doing a gap year abroad(http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/education/19educ.html). I’m torn about how I feel about though. Here is the rationale behind that:

Bad Idea:

Leaving home the first time (which a lot of people do when they go to college- I certainly was one of them) can be traumatizing. You can make up for that by being in a University setting where you still study and being surrounded by people who are in the same proverbial boat. It helps you bond- and it takes the sting off of the difficulty of being away from home.

Being in a place where they don’t speak the language can make a lot of the normal problems in life worse- because ultimately our ability to communicate is what bonds us to the people who surround our lives. That means that if you are in a European city where most people speak a decent amount of English- wonderful- but if you’re doing service projects in the mountains of Bolivia, well…you better speak Spanish!
What it comes down to, is that I think most people at 18 are too immature to handle rent and amenities, going out responsibly and being able to (to put it simply) “not die.” I have a roommate here who is 18. She’s Turkish and miserable. She doesn’t speak Italian or English and so it is impossible to communicate with her. Frankly, communicating with her is necessary as in the past week, she has left the gas on the stove while we were at work, left the door open all night, shut the water off in the bathroom while playing with knobs and needs to be taken care of the few times we go out socially as an apartment. So, basically, we had to smell with the potential of being blown up and murdered. These are little (or not so little) things that most people know not to do with age- but on the safety of a college campus there is that little bit of room for error.

The US Dollar is also terrible right now (1.50 USD to 1.00 Euro), but this will need some time to bounce back.

Good idea:
Studying abroad is one of the most amazing experiences a person can have. You meet fascinating people from all walks of life and all parts of the world. You learn about other countries and cultures while learning tons about yourself and your own inner potential. And its just plain fun!

On a totally unrelated note, I’ve picked up one of my old habits here- I started playing on one of Milan’s softball teams this week. Its fun! I have always played on a competitive level- but this team is a mix of old and young, experienced and inexperienced. There are also two older men on the team who were playing in rolled up jeans- which made me think of a Brooklyn pick-up game circa 1954. Or maybe The Sandlot! SMALLS! The GREAT BAMBINO! THE SULTAN OF SWAT! THE COLLOSUS OF CLOUT!

That to me, is finding the best of American culture in my city!
This is also a good time to check out the sports blog (link to the right), for a good chuckle and some interesting insight into that world!