Study Abroad: What's Happening?

When we as a society were knee-deep in the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the things many people agreed upon was how much they missed traveling. The mandatory quarantine, which was essential to slowing the spread of the virus, took quite a toll on those of us with wanderlust. Being in the home stretch of this unprecedented and historical pandemic means that many places are easing restrictions on traveling, countries are reopening their borders, and flights are once again easy to access but very expensive, as was the norm before the shutdown.

Along with these increases in travel restrictions, St. Catherine University has finally moved into the planning stages for its Global Studies programs. I spoke with Charlotte Kadifa ‘23 (History) and Kate Nordstrom ‘23 (Communications) about their experiences with trying to study abroad during a global pandemic.

“I’ve wanted to study abroad, in France specifically, since I was in middle school,” says Kadifa. “My whole family knows French, and my older sister studied abroad in Paris when I was in 8th grade. I decided then and there that I was going to study abroad as well. I’ve traveled a lot with my family and was fortunate enough to even travel to France and dip a toe into the experience.”

Nordstrom decided that she wanted to study abroad as soon as she came to St. Kate’s. “One of our first presentations, when I came to visit, was about all of the different programs that were available for us to be able to travel to another country. There were pictures from all over the world, and I knew right away that I wanted to travel to a Spanish-speaking country. It sounded incredible.”

Kadifa’s original plan was to travel to France in 2022 and was lucky enough that her plans haven’t been affected by the pandemic, but she still reflects that the experience has been nerve-wracking. “When Covid-19 first started spreading, we all assumed that it would be fine by 2022, but with the Delta variant over the summer, it made it difficult for deadlines to be met.”

Her program has been very restrictive in order to stay safe, but Kadifa says it’s been a hard process to get all of the forms and authorization that she’ll need from the university. “For the longest time, I wasn’t able to get information, and I was worried about time-sensitive things.” Thankfully, things are moving a lot smoother with vaccinations.

Unfortunately, Nordstrom’s programs have been caught in the restrictions of the pandemic. “I was supposed to go to Chile for J-term in 2020, but there was a revolution, and we were told to wait a year.”

Using “2020 vision”, as she called it, she wished that she was able to choose a different country, knowing that the pandemic would cancel her next two J-term plans of Havana, Cuba, and Chile. “It’s definitely been frustrating, more so because the first trip was canceled,” says Nordstrom. “I understand completely and the university handled it as well as they could. I was a bit surprised that this J-term was canceled, seeing as we’re all vaccinated, but I understand that as well.”

Now that the program is allowing students to travel abroad again, both ladies were so excited about the prospect of their programs going through. Kadifa was practically jumping up and down. “I miss traveling so much. Staying home was definitely one of the hardest parts of the pandemic,” she reflects. “Studying abroad has always been the light at the end of the tunnel. I have family and friends in Europe, so there’s no worrying, only excitement.”

Kadifa '23 at the London Bridge with family

Nordstrom felt a similar amount of excitement. “I’ve been looking into programs for January of 2023, and I’m looking forward to being able to finally travel abroad after having it canceled so many times.”
I think I’m speaking for many when I say that just knowing that Global Studies is moving forward causes a sense of relief. I haven’t had plans to study abroad, but knowing that we as a society and a university are returning to a sense of normalcy calls for a breath of relief. We’re within sight of the end of this pandemic, and that is a wonderful thing.