- International Students & Scholars
If you choose to study or intern abroad with a goal of heritage seeking, you have a unique opportunity to explore your ancestral roots and reconnect with your cultural history. By immersing yourself in the language, customs, and traditions of your ancestors' home, you can gain a deeper understanding of your identity and foster meaningful connections.
We encourage heritage seeking students to work closely with your education abroad adviser to choose a program that aligns with your personal and cultural interests.
Questions to consider:
- How can I connect with my heritage in a meaningful way while I'm abroad? What opportunities can I seek out to immerse myself in the local culture and community?
- Will I have opportunities to engage with local people and potentially even extended family during my time abroad?
- How can I best prepare to navigate cultural differences and expectations in my host country? If I struggle at first to make those cultural and ancestral connections, or if this ancestral home isn't quite as I expected it to be, will I feel disappointed? How will I handle those feelings?
- Are there ways for me to leverage my cultural or ethnic identity to have a more fulfilling academic experience abroad?
- For example, could I use this unique opportunity to research my family's history in my host country as part of an assignment?
- What resources or support are available to help me understand my heritage more deeply?
- How might my heritage identity affect my experiences abroad, both positively and in potential challenges?
- If I'm interested and comfortable doing so, can I find ways to share my history and culture with my peers?
Tips from the Education Abroad Office:
- Research your host country: Even though you might think that you already know what to expect in your host country because of your cultural connection to the location, it can still be beneficial to do your research to familiarize yourself with social and cultural norms!
- Engage with local communities: Beyond connecting with your extended family, which is already very special, consider connecting with other members of the local community as well. They may have interesting perspectives that you wouldn't expect, or they may practice traditions that aren't practiced in your own family. Take the opportunity to learn from them!
- Set personal goals: Clearly define what you hope to achieve from this experience - whether it's language fluency, family connections, or cultural insights.
- Prepare for challenges: You may find once you are abroad that your host country isn't exactly the place you heard about in your grandparents' stories, or that you're not as fluent in the local language as you thought, and those challenges can be difficult to accept. Don't feel like this is a failure on your part - these challenges often lead to even greater growth. Remain open to these new experiences!
Resources:
- IFSA: Student Stories (study abroad testimonies, many of which are from heritage seekers)
If you choose to study or intern abroad with a goal of heritage seeking, you have a unique opportunity to explore your ancestral roots and reconnect with your cultural history. By immersing yourself in the language, customs, and traditions of your ancestors' home, you can gain a deeper understanding of your identity and foster meaningful connections.
We encourage heritage seeking students to work closely with your education abroad adviser to choose a program that aligns with your personal and cultural interests.
Questions to consider:
- How can I connect with my heritage in a meaningful way while I'm abroad? What opportunities can I seek out to immerse myself in the local culture and community?
- Will I have opportunities to engage with local people and potentially even extended family during my time abroad?
- How can I best prepare to navigate cultural differences and expectations in my host country? If I struggle at first to make those cultural and ancestral connections, or if this ancestral home isn't quite as I expected it to be, will I feel disappointed? How will I handle those feelings?
- Are there ways for me to leverage my cultural or ethnic identity to have a more fulfilling academic experience abroad?
- For example, could I use this unique opportunity to research my family's history in my host country as part of an assignment?
- What resources or support are available to help me understand my heritage more deeply?
- How might my heritage identity affect my experiences abroad, both positively and in potential challenges?
- If I'm interested and comfortable doing so, can I find ways to share my history and culture with my peers?
Tips from the Education Abroad Office:
- Research your host country: Even though you might think that you already know what to expect in your host country because of your cultural connection to the location, it can still be beneficial to do your research to familiarize yourself with social and cultural norms!
- Engage with local communities: Beyond connecting with your extended family, which is already very special, consider connecting with other members of the local community as well. They may have interesting perspectives that you wouldn't expect, or they may practice traditions that aren't practiced in your own family. Take the opportunity to learn from them!
- Set personal goals: Clearly define what you hope to achieve from this experience - whether it's language fluency, family connections, or cultural insights.
- Prepare for challenges: You may find once you are abroad that your host country isn't exactly the place you heard about in your grandparents' stories, or that you're not as fluent in the local language as you thought, and those challenges can be difficult to accept. Don't feel like this is a failure on your part - these challenges often lead to even greater growth. Remain open to these new experiences!
Resources:
- IFSA: Student Stories (study abroad testimonies, many of which are from heritage seekers)
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