PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Study abroad programs came to a screeching halt over the past year. La Salle University hopes to give students that taste of travel again — just, virtually.
Although the U.S. Department of State currently has a “do not travel” advisory in place for Iran, La Salle is still giving students the chance to explore the country’s customs and culture from home.
Lyman Stebbins, associate professor of history, has been “touring” Iran virtually since late January.
“It’s the perfect candidate for a virtual travel study because one would have trouble going there anyway,” he said.
The program begins where every study abroad trip starts: the airport.
“I mapped the course over an itinerary and we began in Tehran, the capital, where one would land on an international flight,” said Stebbins.
From there, he and the students will decide where to go next. Stebbins will pick the general area, then a student will plan a side trip.
“A student took us to a spot in the southwestern deserts that I had never heard of a couple days ago and it was very exciting, and that happens almost every day.”
Thanks to the internet and the magic of YouTube, students can experience the arts, culture and restaurants that would normally be off-limits in the real world.
“The idea behind it was when one travels, the most fun is getting lost, exploring, finding something, and I figured (it’s better) than me simply saying, ‘Well, this is the famous mosque built in 1622 by Shah Abbas, blah blah blah blah blah,’ ” he said.
“If they had to take some ownership of it and find a place that they thought was interesting and share it with the rest of the students, work on some of those presentation skills, it would be more fun, and it’s been a tremendous success.”
Another part of the fun is allowing students to find hidden gems in a country they have never seen.
“One student took us to a teahouse. It’s a place of socialization, place of storytelling, connecting with poetry and tales and myth, and so she took us to this famous tea house in Isfahan and sat us down and showed us how to drink tea and what to order for food and what not, so it’s quite cool.”
Previous online study abroad programs at LaSalle include Ireland and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Browning, Montana.