From Oxana:

Do you not want to study abroad?

Who would not like to study abroad? I just wonder... I cannot find any reason why every student would not wish to study abroad for at least a short period of time.

                From the time that I moved to states, I realized how diverse, interesting and exciting some places, people and cultures can be. Even though in this country we are lucky to be surrounded by this variety, there is nothing better than travelling to a foreign country (or sometimes just a different state), meeting people that live there, getting to know them, understand their culture and where they come from. And every single place and person have something unique about them, something that you could have missed if you did not get to know them. I hope that one day I would have had traveled to many countries, and have got to know and understand many different cultures.

                This is just one of the reasons why I decided to study abroad in Nicaragua. The opportunity that we are given to make a difference for a small entrepreneur, to utilize that valuable knowledge obtained from the Smith school, and apply it to real world businesses, makes me impatiently look forward to this trip. After all an education is not only about receiving, it is about giving back a little more than what was offered to you. And I hope to make a difference for those micro entrepreneurs that are brave enough to build and develop their business in a small, developing country.

I know it will be a great experience that will create a lot of memories. My only worry is the length of the program. I am afraid to not have enough time to practice and improve my poor Spanish language skills. With that being said, I will take the most out of this trip.