Outside the comfort zone

September 27, 2013

What happens when you step outside of your comfort zone? Stein Brunvand, Martha Adler and Monica Porter asked that question this summer as they stretched their students鈥攁nd themselves鈥攖o the limit during Global Intercultural Experience for Undergraduates (GIEU) programs in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

鈥淚 believe deeply in that getting outside of your comfort zone and actually going to another country鈥攚here things don鈥檛 work the way you think they should work and you can鈥檛 go back to the comfort of your own little room or apartment at the end of the day鈥攊s a powerful learning experience,鈥 Adler said.

GIEU, run through U-M Ann Arbor, supports University of Michigan educational and intercultural projects that take students out of the traditional classroom and into a global learning environment. This year, the program funded 10 projects鈥攐pen to students on all three campuses鈥攚ith UM-Dearborn faculty and staff leading two of the experiences.