Travel is revived for Arabic language students in recent trip to Oman
March 14, 2024 - Salome Borrego-Marsh
For the first time since before the pandemic, seven students were able to participate in a two-week-long trip to Nizwa, Oman. Thanks to the opportunity provided by the Department of Languages, Cultures, & Literatures (LCL), students were able to deepen their connection to the Arabic language and culture.
As one of the oldest cities in Oman, Nizwa was once a hub for trade, religion, education, and art. With such a rich history, the students on the trip benefitted from the abundance of cultural experiences that Nizwa provided each day.
For Janice Biondo, an undergraduate student in LCL, the opportunity to travel abroad was one she could not pass up.
“I wanted to improve my Arabic and get to experience living in an Arab country, and experience the culture, food and people up close and firsthand. There's no substitute for studying the language in a country where the target language is spoken.” Biondo said.
When they weren’t in Arabic class at the Daaris Institute, students were exploring the city’s markets, museums, traditional mountain irrigation systems, and participating in cooking classes.
“I loved having language partners and the cultural events in addition to the class instruction. It really helped us get to understand the language, culture, and people so much more,” said Biondo.
These trips give students the opportunity to improve their language skills while deepening their understanding of cultures worldwide.
The hands-on nature of these trips gives students access to new elements of their education beyond what can be offered in a traditional classroom.
“After taking three semesters of Arabic, I felt like I needed to fully immerse myself in order to reach the next level in my language learning journey,” said Adrienne Paternoster, an undergraduate student in International Studies with a concentration in the Middle East.
“Experiencing the language and culture first-hand has confirmed my aspirations of becoming a foreign service officer with a focus on the Arab World. I plan on continuing my Arabic language journey long after my time at UNM ends.” Paternoster continued.
Beyond benefiting academically from studying abroad, students also had the opportunity to experience the culture firsthand.
“Throughout the 2 weeks, I witnessed what it felt like to live in a high-functioning society: The streets were clean, I felt safe walking around at night, trustworthiness was an innate characteristic shared amongst the town, and the people were simply incredible,” said Paternoster.
Associate professor of Arabic, Emma Trentman, organized the trip to Oman and explains how she hopes that participating in these experiences will nurture students’ confidence in traveling abroad for longer periods of time in the future.
“Language learning offers so many opportunities, including enhanced participation in study abroad programs like this one. I encourage all UNM students to study languages and study abroad. There are also many scholarship opportunities to fund participation in study abroad opportunities.” said Trentman.
Prior to the pandemic, LCL was able to offer these experiences a few times a year. Now, with students being able to travel safely, the department is working hard to offer more immersive experiences like this again.
This May, students will have the opportunity to participate in the Provence Summer Abroad trip where they will spend two-and-a-half weeks traveling between Provence, France and Paris, France. This will be the second time they’ve been able to provide this experience, where students will get to visit Roman sites as well as French.
Paternoster says, “I encourage everyone to study abroad. This trip with Dr. Emma Trentman has truly changed my perspective of the world.”
