Southwestern Magazine | Spring 2019

the highlights of any trip abroad. Whether it’s higos con queso (figs and cheese) in Ecuador, hong shao niu roumian (beef noodle soup) inTaiwan, or maharagwe (spiced redbeans incoconutmilk) inKenya, food is just one entrée into a region’s culture andhistory, including its traditions, taboos, agriculture, and trade.We expect the cuisine to differ from what we’re accustomed to, and we hope that travel will expand our minds and stomachs alike—though that’s not always the case. Sarah Brackmann, senior director of integrative and community-engaged learning, traveled outside theU.S. for the first time while studying abroad in London as part of her master’s program in higher education and student affairs. “As you probably know, the food in England is not the greatest,” she opines. Brackmann recalls that she and a fellowstudentwere “craving good food, [so] we decided to treat ourselves by eating at a quaint cafe. We felt really sophisticated and wanted good homemade food, sowe ordered baked ravioli.We apparently forgot we were in England and not Italy becausewe expected freshpastawithdelicious sauce.” Unfortunately, what arrived on the plate did not fulfill the expectations set up by the menu. “Instead,” says Brackmann, “they served us Chef Boyardee with cracker crumbs.” To make matters worse, the canned ravioli had expired and was covered in mold, rendering it inedible. “Lesson learned,” notes Brack- mann, “I survived on digestives and pasties for the rest of the visit.” “This dreadful transport” Running out of gas on amountain road. Being trapped in an airport for eight hours after a delay causes a missed connection. Gripping the armrest in the backseat of a taxi that’s being steered by a driver who apparently has an appointment with death. They’re all examples of the kinds of transportationmishaps that can reduce aweary traveler to tears. But learning how to navigate air and ground trans- portation in a foreign country is also the kind of experience that can teach creative problem-solving and resilience. For amonth last summer, Sarah Barton ’20 studied wildlife management at the School for Field Studies in Tanzania. While on safari in the Seren- geti, one of the Jeeps got a flat tire. “This was funny becausewewere in themiddle of nowhere, where you least want to get a flat tire,” Barton explains. After all, unlike getting a flat tirewhile driving down I-35, when you are surrounded by grasslands full of wildlife and are at the mercy of Mother Nature, there is no AAA that you can call for help. Bartonobviouslylivedtotellthetale...onlytoexperience evenmore car trouble. During another expedition, her group’s Jeep got stuck in a ditch along the trail. Barton recalls, “Everyone had to get out of the car sowe could lighten theweight and try to get it out of the ditch.” As the travelers contemplated being once again stranded in the wild, a rather grisly fate befell one of Barton’s fellow students while waiting for the vehicle to be freed from the ditch: “One girl that was in the Jeep accidentally stepped in a pile of poop that was on the road.” Luckily, the incident served as a much-needed break in the tension caused by their car troubles. “This was one thing thatwe had a good laugh at,” says Barton. While traveling abroad, we often reach new highs and lows and humble ourselves through our failures. However, learning how to adapt to the unfamiliar and copewith discomfort—fromculture shocks and health scares to unpalatable cuisine and unreliable transpor- tation—is still key to developing greater self-awareness and encouraging personal growth. And learning how to laugh at ourselves through it all never hurts, either. Do you have a humorous memory to share from your travels abroad? Send an email, voice recording, or video tomagazine@southwestern.edu and tell us all about it. 31 SOUTHWESTERN