Jane Viviano (2011-2012 Outbound to Turkey)

Hi Rob!

Sorry I’ve been late getting back to you. I can explain…

My exchange to Turkey affected my life in so many unbelievable ways. First and for most, I’m at the University of Massachusetts studying the uncommon major of Middle Eastern Studies and I’m currently taking Arabic, Turkish, Intro to World Religions, and may be working for the Judaic and Middle Eastern Studies department soon. I love explaining to people why I chose Middle Eastern Studies.

I have to say, I needed some time when I came back from Turkey to reflect on how my life had changed. It was frustrating at times, being in high school with my peers who were less globally conscious than I. I had matured in so many ways that I couldn’t imagine complaining about petty issues such as homework when there were real world problems to be solved in Turkey and the Middle East. I almost felt as if I was too old for my age.

This has proved to be a great thing. Age doesn’t matter in college and I love how professors regard their students at a level of equal intelligence. Standards are high in college and I know that it will be me and only me who shapes my life. I have the power to succeed in anything I pursue or try to accomplish. It is also nice to go to college and not be homesick like many of my floor mates! I love my parents, but living away from them for eight months taught me to be even more independent than I was before I went to Turkey.

I’m not exactly sure where a Middle Eastern Studies major will take me. Many people have been recruited by the FBI and government agencies, joined the Peace Corp and NGO’s like Amity International. Some have become translators, journalists, and volunteer aids. I’m also considering majoring in anthropology and would like to travel and do research in the Middle East. Lately I have considered becoming a professor (I already have my eyes set on graduate school).

But one thing that my exchange did teach me was that things change very quickly. Life is short. Too short to worry about where exactly a Middle Eastern Studies major will take me, or if I will even end up with a degree in that field. I always try new things and take every opportunity offered because I never know where that opportunity will take me. A new opportunity could change my life all over again. I’ll be ready for it if it does.

Jane