Where in the world?

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Senior Jessica Griner taught English in northern China for seven weeks. “Living in rural China alongside the Chinese people taught me so much about my culture, my religion and myself,” Griner said.

Summer study abroad trips take Flagler students around the world to learn, give back

By Lindsay Williams | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Flagler students have the opportunity to study abroad in Peru, Paris or Belize for the summer of 2008, and earn six to 10 credits while doing it. Most trips will take place during the month of May and beginning weeks of June.

The trip to Peru will be under the direction of Spanish instructor Aggie Johnson, and students will travel to Cusco, Peru. The trip is in partnership with Pro World Service Corps, a service organization whose mission is to promote social and economic development amongst impoverished communities.

This year, students and faculty will study the Peruvian language, culture and developmental needs of the Cusco community.

Johnson, whose experience with the culture includes six years of living in Peru, said students will “see a new reality, giving them a bigger and better perspective of the world around them.”

Dr. Jim Wilson, an associate professor in the English Department, will be leading the trip to Paris where students will study American expatriate writers who lived in France.

Students will travel to Ile de la Cité, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Latin Quarter, the Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Élysées, the Eiffel Tower, Champ de Mars, Les Invalides, the Louvret, Musée d’Orsay, Sacré Coeur and Giverny.

Professor Barbara Blonder will lead a group back to Belize to study marine and tropical ecology. The group will be based for five days at Calabash Caye, where students will learn about the Belize Barrier Reef Ecosystem and abundant wildlife.

Four days will be spent in the tropical rain forest of the Cayo District; the last day will be an exploration of Mayan ruins.

Students are eligible if they are of sophomore standing and have at least a grade point average of 2.5. To learn more, contact the professor leading the trip or visit my.flagler.edu/ics/Academics/Study_Abroad.jnz.