Here's my "international" experience:
So, after these few weeks talking about internationalizing the curriculum, internationalism, and intercultural, I've been always reflecting on my international exchange. My BA is in Hawaiian Studies and my area of concentration was kumu kahiki - Polynesian and Indigenous Studies. I started learning the Māori language, which is very similar to Hawaiian. I always wanted to travel to Aotearoa-New Zealand. Therefore, I decided to do an "international" exchange. Unfortunately, I went at the wrong time, where it was winter time! But, I managed, this islander who is used to heat and sun, survived sunless, cold, rainy and wet months at 50 degrees. I also have a blog, was supposed to be a daily blog of my experiences, but it got overwhelming to do a blog daily. Check out my other blog Kamakana in Aotearoa!
So, I attended the University of Waikato, located in Hamilton, the Māoridom, the center of where the Kīngitanga Movement emerged. This international exchange was basically to get electives out of my way and to broaden my horizon. And it did! I was stoked to have done this! One of the best parts was going over with a few others from Hawaiʻi. Plus, having family there now. A Hawaiian Aunty from here now lives there. It was definitely internationalizing my educational experiences through a different university in a another country.
Everything was different, the food, the people, the culture, the environment, the curriculum, the system, everything. So, actually participating in this internationalization of higher education, I can see the value of doing this. But I really wander, how the universities benefit from these. The Mānoa International Exchange (MIX) program is different from the Study Abroad Program. The MIX program has agreements with many universities around the world sponsored by various departments or units. Besides the student part of it, it can also include faculty exchanges and joint research opportunities. UHM has agreements with all the mainstream NZ universities.
In the end, I greatly benefited from this experience and I really wished these experiences could have been offered to many of my peers in Hawaiian language and Hawaiian studies. Although it is a financial challenge for students to do these exchanges. But, if the universities are really pushing for this type of movement, then financial support needs to be there. Basically, I paid tuition and fees to UHM. Everything else (airfare, accommodations, fees, food, etc.) I paid. I'm very grateful for scholarships and financial aid, which I decided to take out loans offered to me that year - which really helped. This experience cost US $10,000. Trust me, it was worth it. If I had to do it again, I would do it in a heartbeat. I also wished I stayed an extra semester (since they really wanted me and the others to stay), but it was leaning towards graduation.
And because of this experience, it has pushed me towards a direction of obtaining my PhD here.
I can only begin to imagine how valuable this experience was for you. Even now, I can recognize the Maori influences in your scholarship and approach to learning. It is too bad that more HWST and HWN Language students are not able to also take advantage of this opportunity, as I am sure it would greatly enhance the connections with our Polynesian cousins. (I did not realize that you had to pay $10K for one semester! Wow!) Mahalo again for sharing, and I enjoyed your other blogʻs postings— especially about the Kapa Haka competition.
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