Buffet of Opportunities
USC offers an array of programs to help students study in different countries abroad

By Eve Kan

I lucked out.

I wanted to learn Mandarin. Even though my parents both speak it, the gift to speak in tongues wasn't built into my genetic mix. English was my language of choice growing up in Texas.

But I had an itch. I wanted to knock down the language barrier that prevented me from understanding all the late night conversations my parents would have with friends over the dinner table, the mysterious chit chat with relatives over the phone, and the peals of laughter caused by Chinese television shows.

So the first step on my road to becoming fluent in Mandarin was to move to California. I thought that with all the cultural diversity in a city like Los Angeles, I was bound to pick up Mandarin. In my naivety, I thought learning Mandarin was something simple, like discovering a shiny penny lying provocatively on the sidewalk.

I was wrong.

But let me backtrack for a second. Before my freshman year, a startlingly non-flashy letter arrived in my mailbox from the East Asian Language and Cultures department. It was a solicitation for students who were interested in learning more about East Asia. It was perfect.

The program was called Explore East Asia and offered students the opportunity to take language classes and other courses through the EALC department, and all for free. Through the Freeman Grant scholarship program, students can learn more about different East Asian countries, including a tour of a particular country. I filled out the application to spend a summer in China and crossed my fingers.

The following June, I got a phone call informing me that I had been chosen to participate in the program.

This is how I was able to get my first taste of studying abroad. I learned of another opportunity through a small flyer that was advertised in the EALC department, which caught my eye after meeting with the director of the department. It was for a little known scholarship by the Taiwan Ministry of Education that paid students a monthly stipend to study Mandarin.

I was granted the scholarship and spent the 2004-2005 school year in Taipei learning Mandarin at the International Chinese Language Program at the National Taiwan University. The experience was thoroughly worthwhile and I am now able to speak Mandarin with confidence.

You don't need a 4.0 GPA to qualify for these opportunities. You don't have to be a certain ethnicity or religious affiliation. You just need an idea of what you would like to do and then get out there and find these opportunities. Talk to professors, department staff, student services -- meeting with different people will always lead you in the right direction.

Write to Eve Kan at ekan@usc.edu