<p>Summer after my Junior year I plan to either go on a free state sponsored exchange trip to Jordan to learn Arabic or attend the Georgetown High School program on International Relations. I plan to major in International Relations and minor in Arabic, so both would be good for my academics but im really torn between which one to do.</p>
<p>If you’re hoping for a summer that is fun and eye-opening, go abroad. But it sounds like you’re looking to gain hard skills, language ability, and cultural knowledge. Abroad trips are a lot of fun and you’ll always meet interesting people. But being in a new place can be distracting from the study or professional experience you’re looking to draw from your time away. Especially if you’re just beginning to learn a tough language, like Arabic. I could go on about that, the topic may be better elaborated by this blog post, written by a teacher learning Mandarin who explains the importance of domestic language class study: <a href=“http://mmla.middlebury.edu/blog/post.php?id=397[/url]”>http://mmla.middlebury.edu/blog/post.php?id=397</a> </p>
<p>Where are you in your Arabic study? Like this teacher, I would strongly recommend studying Arabic before going abroad. It’s also helpful to set your sights on the benefit you hope to gain from traveling abroad. The Georgetown program may help you clarify your specific interest in International Relations and then make the most of your time during a trip abroad between college semesters.</p>
<p>If you want to win a NSLI-Y scholarship next year, you should look for a way to begin Arabic this year either through a Startalk summer program, online or some other way. NSLI-Y gets more competitive every year and the Arabic summer program is the second most competitive program after Chinese summer.</p>