X
ROTONDA
SIXTY-SIXTH YEAR
Tuesday, December 9, 1986
Number Eleven
Longwood Students Study Abroad Some Longwood College students did something last summer other than work a temporary job or acquire a tan. Several went to a bullfight and the famous Prado art museum in Madrid, others visited the Black Forest in Germany, and one picnicked in France's cave region and toured the Louvre in Paris. Eight students took part in a four-week program at the University of Madrid in Spain. Two others studied at the Goethe Institute in West Germany for eight weeks. Another studied at the University of Toulouse in France for about a month. The study-abroad programs, which focus on language and culture, are part of I>ongwood's emphasis on international awareness. "Everybody should go to a foreign country at least once," said Laurie McManaway, a senior from Bedford who went to Madrid. "You'll learn to appreciate this country even more, because we're so fortunate here." Students at the University of Madrid, among them sophomore Rick Osborn of Farmville, took two courses, which included language, art at the Prado, and international public relations. They also went to a bullfight in which a matador was hurled into the air, toured the Prado — which has works by Picasso, Goya and El Greco — and went to villages in southern Spain. In Granada, they saw the Alhambra, a famous 14th-century Moorish palace. Spaniards are a friendly, sociable people who like to go to discotheques and bars in the evening, but public drunkenness is almost unheard of, the students say. "They're carefree," said Susan Alonso, a junior from Miami. "Whatever happens tomorrow, happens tomorrow. They care only about today. They're not ruled by the clock like we are. They might go out partying and get only three hours' sleep before having to go to work the next day."
One cultural difference is that Spanish women almost never wear shorts or jeans. "That's why I stuck out like a sore thumb; I was wearing jeans," said Alonso, whose grandparents were native Spaniards and whose
has taught there and also is a director. Chris Jacobs, who has since graduated, and Kerri Hruby studied at the Goethe Institute. It's in Staufen, a small, picturesque town in southwest
Hruby also visited Austria, Belgium, France and Switzerland, staying in elderhostels. She saw her fiance, a Longwood graduate who is an Army officer stationed in Bitburg, West Germany. After
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(From left) Laurie McManaway, Susan Alonso, Traci Strickland and Debbie Jessup, all of whom went to Madrid.
parents immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba. "In Spain, even if you're poor, you dress well." When she wore shorts one day, McManaway was scolded by an elderly Spanish woman who considered her "very immoral." Oddly, though, topless sunbathing is commonplace. "At an apartment pool one day, only myself and another American were wearing tops," McManaway said. "We were stared at because we were different. We felt weird." Dr. Maria Silveira, a Longwood Spanish professor, has taught at the University of Madrid the past two years and is one of the program's directors. Her brother-in-law, Dr. Jorge Silveira, who teaches at Hampden-Sydney College, also
Germany, about 20 miles from graduating next year, Hruby will the French and Swiss borders. marry in July and move to "The people there were very Bitburg. Craig Hardy, a senior from friendly and eager to please," said Hruby, a senior from Ellicott Midlothian, studied at the City, Md. "I went horseback University of Toulouse, located in riding, saw a jumping a city of 900,000 in southern competition and watched the France. IiOngwood is one of three World Cup soccer final (West American colleges that has an Germany lost to Argentina) in a exchange agreement with the German home...The local wine University. "Toulouse is kind of like the was excellent, because Staufen is (American) South," said Hardy, in a wine-growing region." one of only five students in his While the Madrid students stayed at a dormitory with other class. "People are friendly and American students, Hruby was open and hospitable. They have lodged in a German home with an less exposure to Americans than international flavor. She shared a people in Paris. They're not sick room with a Brazilian girl; two of us." students from Togo and Panama With fellow Americans and lived in the basement; and the French citizens, he went on German host and hostess didn't picnics in the nearby I/>t River speak English. Valley, which is famous for its
caves that contain prehistoric artwork. He spent three days in Paris, went to Lyon to meet a pen pal he had corresponded with for four years, and visited a family in Montargis he stayed with during a trip to France in 1982. All but one of the students are fluent in their chosen foreign language and they were pleased with their ability to communicate. There were some minor problems, though. Debbie Jessup, a senior from Richmond, said the taxicab drivers in Madrid were difficult to understand because they use a lot of slang. Osborn has some trouble shopping for clothes because all the measurements are in metric. "One day I was shopping for a sweater and I couldn't remember the verb for to put on,'" he recalled. "I used the wrong verb — 'to take out,' or something like that. Eventually, the saleslady understood what I was trying to say and corrected me." Osborn missed American food. "Spanish food has a lot of garlic and we got sick of French fries, which they served us every day. I ate at McDonald's two or three times. They also have a Burger King, a Wendy's and a pizza parlor in Madrid." Patty Fishback, a senior from Lovingston who went to Madrid, speaks little Spanish but picked some up. "It comes to you, because you hear it all the time," she said. "I tried to communicate in Spanish — and that helped." By going to a foreign country, said Osborn, "you definitely catch an ear for the language. Even if you don't improve your speech, you improve your comprehension." McManaway credits the international public relations course she took with giving her a new perspective. "You learn not to judge other cultures, you learn to understand other cultures. The first week there, I went through culture shock. I made the mistake of judging their culture. It was kind of bumpy at first, but I had a wonderful time.*'