From Katipunan to Europe: The SOH Summer Study Tours
Eleven years ago, students from the Ateneo studying modern languages merely went on field trips to Spanish and French restaurants to imbibe the cultures of those countries.
Fast-forward to the vibrant summers of today, and students now go beyond field trips to Spanish and French restaurants. Now they go to the countries themselves to experience the grandeur of the Eiffel Tower, see live the majestic Alhambra of Spain, pose for a snapshots at the Berlin wall in Germany, and taste the famous Kimchi of Korea.
The School of Humanities Summer Study Tours recently brought Ateneans to the countries of France, Germany, Korea, and Spain for 3-4 weeks of study, immersion and fun. This is a program of the Department of Modern Languages that gives the students an opportunity to study and explore the countries by experiencing their life and culture.
The Korean Study Tour group stayed at the Pyeongchang-dong district where they were accommodated by a Korean family. The students studied at the Korean Language Institute. They also did campus tours at Yonsei University and Ewha Women’s University,
visited
the Philippine Embassy in Korea, Hyehwadong (the Filipino community in Korea), sang in a noraebang (karaoke joint), experienced the traditional spa and ate authentic Korean kimchi.
The Spain group explored the iconic towns of Salamanca, Segovia, Avila, Sevilla, Cordoba, and Madrid. They also visited the nearby towns of Fatima, Portugal, the first just in time for the feast of Our Lady of Fatima.
Historical places in Germany like the Berlin wall, Munich, and the BMW Museum were some of the places
the German Study Tour group visited.
For the France group, they stayed in Strasbourg in Eastern France. The students stayed in Ciel de Strasbourg where they met their foster parents, store employees, and language teachers. They didn’t miss the chance to see France’s beloved tourist spots as they visited the Notre Dame Cathedral, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and Versailles. They also had excursions to Lucerne, Switzerland, Heidelberg and Kehl in Germany, during the weekends.
Even for a short span of time, Chair of the Department of Modern Language Prof. Luisa Young thanked everyone who participated in this year’s summer study tour, “Thank you all for joining the best field trip you would ever have in your entire life.” 
One of the students who joined the program said that the experience was indeed memorable for him because of the lessons he learned, “I believe that everybody needs to go abroad even just for a short time in order to grow as a person. If you’re traveling alone, you just rely on yourself and that’s when independence takes in. So the tour made me more independent, mature, and cultured person.”
Traveling abroad also includes the disadvantage of a language barrier but a student said that in his case, the help of his language teacher helped him a lot. “When I came to Germany, I wasn’t really the sharpest tool in the shed. At first the language really bothered me because my purpose of joining the study tour was more for the tour rather than the study, but it did give our teacher something to complain about. But after a while, I realized how professional, fun, and efficient German teachers can be.”
Despite the language barrier and the cultural differences of these countries, the students said that the hardest thing about the study tour was leaving a beautiful country— the accommodating locals, the breathtaking sceneries, the life and culture — of places which they considered “home away from home” albeit for a short period of time.
