Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Spring 2010 Latin America Study Abroad
(Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Cuba or Guatemala)
Furman University

Participating Faculty:
Erik Ching, History, Program Director (contact  information below)
Kristy Maher, Sociology
Steve O’Neill, History
Laura Thompson, Biology 

FAQ below initially pertained to the Spring 2010 trip. This trip did not go. The information below equally applies to the upcoming Spring 2011 trip.

Question: Where is the trip going?

Answer: Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua and either Cuba or Guatemala. Roughly equal time will be spent in each country, between 2 and 3 weeks.

The itinerary and order of countries to be visited are still being worked out, but the likely scenario is:
Mexico will be dedicated primarily to Dr. Thompson’s Biology course, focusing on humans and their interactions with natural ecosystems. The program will likely consist of Mexico City and Cuernavaca and its environs (Tepotzlán and Amatlán).
Nicaragua will be dedicated primarily to the history course with Dr. O’Neill, focusing on US foreign policy in Latin America with an emphasis on US involvement in Nicaragua in the 19th and 20th centuries. The program will travel to Managua and various regions throughout the country.
El Salvador will be dedicated primarily to Dr. Ching’s history course and will focus on social conflict and insurrectionary movements in the 20th century. The program will travel to San Salvador and various regions throughout El Salvador.
Cuba or Guatemala will be dedicated primary to Dr. Maher’s sociology course, focusing on global health issues, particularly HIV/AIDS. In either country, the program would travel to the capitals (either Havana or Guatemala City) and various other regions throughout the country. Whether we go to Cuba or Guatemala will depend on changes in US policy regarding travel restrictions to Cuba for study groups and whether or not the Center for Global Education (see below) will acquire a travel license in time for us to go. This program was one of the last short-term study groups to go to Cuba in Spring 2004 before new travel restrictions went into effect.

Question: What are the dates of the trip?

Answer: Specific dates are still being worked out, although it is likely we will be abroad eight to nine weeks (February and March, 2010). We would then be on campus before and after taking classes for the remainder of the term. If the model from Fall 2008 is followed, we will be on campus for two weeks at the beginning of the program and three weeks at the end, although this is subject to change.

Question: What is the likely maximum number of student participants?

Answer: Between 15 and 20

Question: What is the basic format of the trip?

Answer: A Furman professor is with the students at all times, although it is not likely that one of the four participating professors will be with the students for the duration of the time abroad. Because each of the participating faculty members will probably have the obligation of teaching one course back at Furman in the same term that they are involved in the study away program, the four professors will be rotating in and out of the program every two or three weeks. There will be some overlap between professors, and it is possible that one or more will be able to stay longer than 2 or 3 weeks. Regardless, one of the reasons we have worked with the Center for Global Education (see below) in the past is the high quality of their local staff members. As with the Fall 2008 program, one of them will be with the students at all times for the duration of the Spring 2010 program.

Question: How are on campus housing and meals arranged during the program’s time on campus?

Answer: The program will provide housing (and meals) for students during the time they are on campus as part of the overall program budget. Housing will be either on campus, or off campus at a nearby hotel—e.g. the Hampton Inn in Traveler’s Rest. On both the Fall 2008 Latin America program and Spring 2009 Africa program, housing was available on campus so we did not utilize the off campus option; it is our hope and intention to follow that example in the future, but it depends on variables that cannot be predicted that far into the future. Those students with with off campus status (which tends to be only one or two per program), will continue to live in their off campus arrangement. The program will credit to the student’s Furman account the equivalent amount of money that is being spent on the other students who will be on campus. For those students who do not have off campus housing, two options exist: 1) the student can become a “floater” whereby the housing office will place the student in a room not of their choosing for the four or five weeks of their on campus. time. Again, this cost is covered by the program. The students’ roommate may or may not be a fellow program participant and will not be of the students’ choosing; 2) The student can reserve her/his previously assigned room with the roommates of her/his choice for an additional fee that will make up the difference between what the program can spend on the student’s housing and the cost (albeit discounted slightly by the Housing Office for study abroad students) for the student’s room for the entire semester. For the student that chooses this option, the additional cost for the 2008-2009 programs was approximately $1,500; that figure is obviously subject to change. If the program has the financial ability to further compensate students and thereby reduce the amount a student would either receive or pay to reserve her/his room of choice, it will do so. On Latin America Fall 2008 and Africa Spring 2009, approximately ½ of the participants selected to be floaters and the other half reserved their rooms at the additional cost, although on neither of those programs was extra funding available to further subsidize the housing choice.

Meals are handled in the same way as housing. A set amount of program budget will be set aside to compensate the student for meals during the on campus portion of the program. Students will be presented with various meal plans by the Billing Office, as to whether or not they want the program to provide all, some or none of the meals through Furman’s on campus dining options.

Question: How much will the program cost? What will that cost cover?

Answer: The cost of the program is pegged to the cost of staying on campus spring term—based on tuition, a full meal plan and living in North Village. The goal is to avoid charging the student any additional money. The cost covers everything—including but not limited to transportation, lodging, meals, guides, speakers, entrance fees, etc., and of course the sixteen course credits. The students will have to pay for their own textbooks and necessary pre-departure vaccinations and each student will need a small amount of their own spending money for personal items while abroad (a couple hundred dollars is usually sufficient). All scholarship funds and tuition grants that a student may have apply to the cost of the program as this is a Furman program and is billed as any other normal semester offering.

Question: Are there scholarships for the program?

Answer: Furman has a modest study abroad scholarship fund, which is based on a combination of need and merit. The application has been available in the past through the Financial Aid Office, but starting with this year’s program it is supposed to be available through the website of Furman’s Office of Intl. Education and Study Away, which is located on the second floor of Johns Hall. Normally the amount of money awarded to a student does not surpass $3,000, with most awards being less. In the past the scholarship funds have been available to students on programs like this one in which the cost does not surpass the cost of staying on campus; presumably that policy will remain the same. The review process for all Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 programs is scheduled to occur in late March 2009, with a deadline sometime in early March. In order to apply for the scholarship a student must fill out a FAFSA form, which is available through the Financial Aid Office or online through the Financial Aid homepage. In addition to the scholarship fund, Furman also offers a study abroad loan program in which a student is more or less guaranteed access to as much as a $2,000, interest-free, but it must be paid back before a student graduates. That program is handled by Janie Burton in the Student Business Office.

Question: What are the qualifications for acceptance?

Answer: We are simply looking for the best possible students who will get the most out of the experience and hopefully utilize their experience in some manner in the future. Majors are inconsequential. Having prior study abroad or travel experience will only be an asset. Spanish is not a requirement for acceptance as all Spanish will be translated, but having some Spanish skills will be highly beneficial to participants while abroad. A strong academic record and the ability to demonstrate responsibility and maturity are essential to acceptance. A student’s year in school is also not consequential, although graduating seniors who have not studied away previously will be given a degree of priority.

Question: When is the application process?

Answer: Following Furman’s new study away calendar, the application process will occur in early Spring term 2009, with the intention of having the roster of participants completed by early March. One or more information meetings will be held in late January, 2009 shortly after the beginning of the spring term. Applications will be provided at those meetings. Applications will also be available through the trip website (listed at the top of this form) and can also be acquired by contacting the program director, Dr. Ching, directly (contact information at bottom of this form). It is possible that one or more roster slots, or at least a wait list will be available until the middle of fall term 2009.

Question: What course credits will participants receive for the Spring Term?

Answer: Each student will receive sixteen (16) hours of course credit in the following four courses.

History 352, Travel Study in Latin American History.
GER: HA (Historical Analysis of Human Interactions) and WC (World Cultures); Latin American Studies Concentration credit
Investigation of key events, movements and individuals in one or more regions of Latin America. Specific topics and periods determined by the instructor in conjunction with the Latin America travel study program. As mentioned previously, the version of this course taught by Dr. Ching focuses on social movements and revolutions in the 20th century.

Biology 432, Field Studies in Biology
GER: HB (Human Behavior) and NE (Humans and Natural Environment)
Travel study course focusing on floral and faunal compositions and analysis of species interactions in a variety of habitats and ecological communities not found in South Carolina. On this study abroad program, the focus tends to be Mexican environmental policies and ecosystems.

Sociology XXX Global Health (Pending Catalog course)
Likely GER: HB (Human Behavior) and WC (World Cultures)
This would be a new catalog course that would follow the basic curriculum of Sociology 380, Global Health Issues in Southern Africa, currently being offered on the Spring 2009 Africa study abroad program It would revolve around the investigation of morbidity and mortality, common epidemics (such as HIV/AIDS, and malaria), cultural factors shaping ideas about health, illness, and healing along with an examination of the role of national health care delivery systems, international groups and NGOs.

HST 234, US Foreign Policy Since 1898
GER: upper level humanities; this course carries a prerequisite of one history course numbered between 100 and 199, or with consent of the instructor as part of the participation on the present program.
Treatment of the diplomatic history of the United States from 1898 to the present. Emphasis on the rise of the United States as a global superpower. When taught as part of this program, Latin American case studies will be used to highlight broader trends and themes, particularly the example of Nicaragua.

Question: What is the academic structure of the program and what is the workload for the courses?

Answer: We will meet with a wide range of academics, politicians and activists from all ranges of the political spectrum. We will do a variety of on site visits. On past trips we did a service learning project in northern El Salvador and shadowed Peace Corp volunteers in eastern El Salvador. We hope to recreate those opportunities. We did home stays in all of the countries we visited. During their time on campus, the workload will be fairly normal for any four-course load, although it is likely that each of our class sessions will be 30 to 45 minutes longer than the normal 50- or 75-minute classes. It is our objective to integrate class sessions, readings and onsite visits as closely as possible. Coursework will depend on the pedagogical and curricular preferences of the faculty members, but if past trips provide any guide, the courses will involve readings, exams, writing exercises, presentations and/or research projects. Past iterations of the program also suggest that students will have reading assignments and reading exams while abroad. The four faculty work together to coordinate their course calendars and maintain a balanced workload.

Question: Can you describe the qualification of the program’s director?

Answer: Erik Ching (Associate Professor of History) has focused his professional careers on the study of Latin America with a specialization on El Salvador. He has extensive travel experience in the region as well as many years experience co-directing Furman study abroad programs to Latin America and Africa. He has directed or co-directed all of the iterations of this Latin America program since its inception in 2004.

Question: Who will be your primary point of contact during the program?

Answer: Throughout most of the study abroad, we will be coordinating with the Center for Global Education (CGE).  Based at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN, the Center specializes in study abroad.  It has six study centers in the world, five in Mexico and Central America, and one in Namibia in Southern Africa.  CGE has been bringing students to the Mesoamerica region for the past ten or twenty years, depending on the particular site in question.  Each CGE study center typically consists of a property, usually a large home, with kitchen and maintenance staff, and a transport vehicle with driver.  Each center also has up to four faculty members who will serve as local coordinators for our program.  Usually these faculty members are divided equally between host country nationals and Americas who have lived and worked in the region for an extended time.  Dr. Ching has worked repeatedly with CGE on both the Africa and Latin America study abroad programs since 2003. The positive nature of this relationship has led us to formulate a longer and more formal institutional relationship between Furman and CGE to build study abroad programs for the future.

Question: How do you travel during the program?

Answer: We will travel by plane, small vans, and busses.

Question: How would you describe the living arrangements on the trip?

Answer: We will stay in a combination of hotels (first-rate to modest), family-run hostels, home stays and CGE study centers.

Question: Will there be “free time” in this program and/or free travel? 

Answer: There is no time for independent or free travel before, during or after the trip. The participating students have class obligations with their Furman professors on Furman’s campus before and after their time abroad. During the 8 or 9 weeks abroad, we adhere to a demanding and busy itinerary that does not allow for independent travel. We build in opportunities for rest, hiking, and relaxation, but during the academic “on-time,” our schedule will be full and busy. As a group we will be together much of the time; perhaps an appropriate analogy is that this program is a “traveling seminar.” We are consistently moving, with a full agenda, ever in search of academic learning opportunities.

Question: Have provisions been made for illnesses or emergencies during the program?

Answer: We have made arrangements for medical assistance in all locations. In particular, our CGE coordinators have a well-established network of doctors that they use in the rare instances that illnesses during their programs have necessitated a doctor visit. Each family will be furnished with a precise itinerary, hotel addresses, and vital phone numbers long before we depart. Moreover, phone and email contact are relatively easy and inexpensive to maintain in most all of the areas we will be visiting. We will have a cell phone with us at all times. Every participant will be enrolled in a temporary health insurance program that is provided by his/her tuition and provides good coverage for any medical expenses. We follow strict health and safety guidelines, on the past four versions of the trip we have faced nothing more severe than the standard traveler’s stomach ailments and some dehydration.

Question: Is there any danger in traveling in this part of the world?

Answer: While we seek to expose students to sophisticated, non-touristy experiences, we are fortunate from an infrastructural standpoint that many of the areas on our itinerary are travelers’ destinations, meaning that certain services are convenient and available. Certainly, the countries we will be visiting are in various stages of economic, political, and social development, and thus can be subject to crime and other concerns.  In order to insure the safety and security of our students, we will have security briefings regularly, and we will maintain close control over the students’ movement. But the destinations on this trip do not present major problems in this regard. We have found that good sense and good manners promise a safe trip in this part of the world. CGE has many years of and tremendous experience in providing study abroad opportunities for students in this region. Additionally, Dr. Ching has spent much time in the region as well.

Question: Why go to this part of the world?  Why go now?  Why go in a group?

Answer: The countries we will visit have undergone profound transformations and offer exciting case studies in civil conflicts, democratization and globalization. We believe that this program offers students a rare educational experience.  It combines the travel component customary to Furman’s former six-week Winter term study abroad experience with the opportunity afforded by the new longer semester term to study topics in greater depth—both on campus. and abroad. The experience of past students indicates that the trip carries with it the potential to be life-changing for its participants.

Question: What is the history of this program?

Answer: This program began in Spring 2004 with Drs. Erik Ching (History) and Cleve Fraser (Political Science) serving as co-directors. At that time it was a spring term program and three courses were offered. The program ran under that format with Ching and Fraser as co directors in 2004, 2006 and 2008. Starting in Fall 2008 and the change to the new semester system, the program expanded to four courses and four faculty with Dr. Ching remaining as director. It has run one time under that format, with the faculty members rotating in and out. Past versions of the program have also included Cuba and Belize as destinations, in addition to Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador. Future programs may look to include Bolivia and/or Venezuela.

Question: How can I contact the program director?

Answer: By phone or email.
Erik Ching: 864-294-2119, erik.ching@furman.edu
[Note: Dr. Ching will be participating on the Spring 2009 Africa program, but will be away from Furman only between Jan. 26 and Feb 14, during which time he will have occasional, but infrequent access to email.]