Coincidently the day I got sick I found out that I had received the NSLI-Y scholarship to study in Mandarin for 10 months. Now I have a difficult decision to make, and fast: Do I study abroad in Bosnia and Herzegovina or do I study abroad in China? This determines the language aspect of my senior project so I really am quite conflicted on what to do! I will use this documentation post to try to sort out my thoughts and help make my decision:
Bosnia Pros:
- The horrific genocide that happened in Bosnia happened approximately 20 years ago. Therefore I would be with kids who were born after the genocide but whose parents lived through it. I would get to learn about the PTSD of the parents and see how children are affected by a tragedy they did not live through
- Bosnia has three presidents and ethnic groups. I would get to learn vital lessons about team building and cooperation
- I would be in classes with kids my own age
- I would get to implement projects in the Bosnian community
- I would get to live with a host family
- I would only be with 2-3 Americans allowing for me to fully immerse myself in the Bosnian community
Bosnia Cons:
- I would be learning a language (Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian) that virtually nobody speaks
- There are very little resources in my community that I would have beforehand
- Doesn’t sound that “cool”
- The food (very carby don’t wanna gain a lot of weight haha)
- Random to if I end up in a super cool city (Sarajevo) or a less cool city (Banja-Luka) if I end up in Banja Luke would I be bored?
- I spoke to current participants who said that they were super bored in class and that it was a joke-they joked about falling asleep in class
China Pros:
- Language-based program meaning I would be learning a valuable language: Mandarin
- Learning Mandarin would have insanely valuable benefits to my career
- China is a world superpower so I would get to experience living in a very powerful country
- THE FOOD!!!!
- Chengdu, the city I am in, looks really really cool. The pandas are awesome, the vibe, I don’t know it just seems amazing
- Get a nice balance between living in a dorm with international students and living with a host family
- I would have to work very hard
China Cons:
- A more language focuses program would not get to implement as many projects in the Chengdu community
- I am there with 10 other NSLI-Y students would I spend too much time with them and not as much time with Chinese students
- Chinese culture is SOOOOO different from American culture this is going to be a very challenging year
- I would have to work very hard
As you can tell this is going to be a hard choice! Comment your thoughts down below! What do you think I should do?