On the Road, You and Me

I met and traveled with tons of young Brits, Aussies, Kiwis, etc. -- but almost no Americans -- when I backpacked though South and East Africa in 1992.  It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, so I wholeheartedly endorse Kristof's suggestion!

Traditionally, many young Britons, Irish, Australians and New Zealanders take a year to travel around the world on a shoestring, getting menial jobs when they run out of money. We should try to inculcate the custom of such a "gap year" in this country by offering university credit for such experiences.

So here's my proposal. Universities should grant a semester's credit to any incoming freshman who has taken a gap year to travel around the world. In the longer term, universities should move to a three-year academic program, and require all students to live abroad for a fourth year. In that year, each student would ideally live for three months in each of four continents: Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe.

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On the Road, You and Me

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Published: March 21, 2006

http://select.nytimes.com/2006/03/21/opinion/21kristof.html?th&emc=th

NDJAMENA, Chad

Where's the best place to get an education? Some might say Harvard or Yale, Oxford or the Sorbonne. But maybe you should add Ndjamena to the list.

Universities are — oh so slowly — recognizing that they need to prepare students to survive globalization. But most overseas studies programs are both too short and too tame. They typically involve sending a herd of students for a term in France or Italy, where they study a little and drink a lot together, amid occasional sightings of locals.

That's why I bring up Ndjamena, this dusty capital of one of the poorest countries in the world. A student living independently here could learn French and Arabic, and would emerge with a much richer understanding of the world than could be taught in any classroom...