Moscow Memories

Funny how traveling to a different continent, where people speak a strange language and observe a different culture, can help you figure out something that was in your head all along.

Sometimes it takes being pushed out of your comfort zone to get comfortable with yourself. Penn State students David Bittner and Gabbriel Frigm found that out firsthand during separate trips to Moscow organized by the collaborative study-abroad program in the College of Agricultural Sciences.

"It sounds so cliché, but studying in Moscow for a semester really did open my eyes to the world," says Frigm, a senior from Wellsville in York County, who is majoring in agricultural science, with minors in international agriculture and agricultural communication. "I almost think studying abroad should be mandatory. It's not about the classroom so much, but it is the way I grew outside it.

"It may sound funny, but I clearly remember the first time I used the metro by myself. It was an empowering experience, being able to navigate the city despite the strange alphabet and language."

To his satisfaction, Bittner, a junior from Berlin in Somerset County, majoring in agricultural and extension education, discovered in Moscow that he has the courage to make mistakes, learn from them and adapt. "Spending six months in a foreign metropolis, which just happens to be the largest city in Europe, forced me to constantly remain outside of my comfort zone," he says. "The most surprising part about this is how I learned to respond to the new challenges that I faced every day. Timid at first, I realized that if I didn't have the ambition to go out on a limb and try, I would never accomplish anything."

Program coordinator Tom Bruening - who responded with a "they-all-say-things-like-that" chuckle when he heard Bittner and Frigm's comments about their Moscow experiences - pointed out that from a practical perspective, a meaningful study-abroad experience makes students more valuable to employers. "Job recruiters seeing study-abroad experiences on resumés has actually led to some of our students being chosen over others for jobs," he said.

"But it is the total experience that they gain from studying abroad with students who are unlike themselves that is the huge payoff. It is a life-changing experience and they will look at the world in a whole different way. They will gain a lot more confidence from the intercultural experiences. It really broadens their horizons."

Going to Moscow and Russia is a unique experience for students, Bruening believes, because the trip offers a contrast to the modern, technologically advanced food and farming system in the United States.

"New Russian agriculture is evolving, growing and developing, allowing entrepreneurship," Bruening says. "They are emerging from the backward, centrally controlled, socialistic system that was so inefficient under the communist government. It didn't allow people to profit individually.

"Now, American companies and corporations are getting into the market, so it is important for students to have international experience so that they are better positioned to get jobs in the agricultural community."

Studying abroad is not always the perfect vacation, Frigm points out. "There were definitely some low moments," she says. "But at the same time it was a great experience and I am so glad I did it. Every student should go. From the Russian girls, you learn that - although at first they seem so different - they are just normal college kids. It is essential for American students to get that. We went out, had a lot of fun and saw a lot of different things."

By far, Bittner's favorite part of the Moscow-Russia experience was his stay at the home of one of his Russian classmates. "I learned that the Russian culture is unique and influential in today's world," he said. "Any Russian will be quick to tell you that they are the largest country in the world, and you are often reminded of that as you walk the streets of Moscow."

Just 2 percent of American agriculture students study abroad, so Bruening, associate professor of agricultural and extension education, thinks those who go to Moscow have a huge advantage. "Going to Russia for four months, the students get immersed in the culture," he said. "It's pretty hard to go there and not be changed by the experience."

There is no doubt that Frigm was. "I look at it like this," she says. "If I can do this for an entire semester, leave my family and go to a strange country, dealing with a strange language and culture—if I can do this, I can do anything."