Pictured above are (in order from left): Kat Turpen, Lauren Dunn, and Yousra Abdulrazig.
Each year, the College of Education and Human Sciences Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies sends a handful of students to Anubhuti School in Jalgaon, India for an experience unlike any other. The school is part of a philanthropic extension of Jain Irrigation, and invites students from extreme poverty in Jalgaon to attend school free of cost. CEHS students participate as classroom assistants in various grades, inserting themselves into the school community and observing the learning strategies of the teachers in Jalgaon. The CEHS students get to know the teachers and staff at the school, and participate in local Indian customs and traditions. This year, three students are traveling to the Anubhuti School, living in India and immersing themselves in the local community for the next two months. The CEHS students participating are:
Yousra Abdulrazig, Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education
Lauren Dunn, Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education
Kat Turpen, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies
Emma Fryda – Ethiopia, 2019
Major: Nutrition, Exercise, and Health Science
Year: Graduated May 2019, currently in physical therapy school at UNMC
Where did you go?
I went to Ethiopia for 6 weeks. We traveled all throughout the country going to rural schools to take anthropometric measurements (height, weight, arm circumference, etc).
What did you enjoy most?
Hanging out with the kids. Whether it was playing soccer, singing songs, or letting them rub your arm to show that you were NOT covered in white paint, it was inspiring how happy and curious these little ones were.
What was the most memorable/notable part?
Seeing people pick their grains from fields, smash them with rocks, and cook them over an open flame in the middle of their yard gave me a new appreciation for culinary skills.
What did you learn?
It is one thing to learn about another country; it is quite another to experience it. I highly recommend study abroad to introduce you to things you wouldn't even think about. Who would have thought having driving lanes and keeping livestock out of the streets would be so vital to not having heart attacks while driving? ;) Studying abroad is all about jumping into a new culture and falling in love with it.
