Esther Shein, Globe Correspondent Most US college students cannot relate firsthand to the war in Kosovo. The senior from Wheaton College spent January in Croatia, where she interned at The Center for Women War Victims in the capital of Zagrev. They want to get rid of land mines, however, the United Nations wants to keep some because it prevents Muslims and Serbs from fighting one another. According to a study by the Institute of International Education, which promotes educational programsworldwide, in 1996-97 there was an 11.4 percent rise, or 99,448 UScollege students who traveled abroad. We talk a lot today about globalization, but until students can travel abroad and see how cultures are connected, they cannot appreciate how connected we are.
Students typically travel abroad during their junior year.
At Wheaton, this year 29 percent of the junior class studied abroad, up 9 percent from last year. The unusual places reflect the growth of opportunities. Chamay received a full semester's worth of credits for the time she spent studying in India. But studying abroad is not all glamour. Chamay says when she first arrived, she felt confused, lost, and lonely. ''I was surprised at how many people there were and was overwhelmed by the population when we'd walk down streets,'' she says.