The combination of coursework and international service can make the phenomenon of culture shock a formal learning experience. Last year, sixteen students from the University of Pittsburgh participated in an education class that took them to Carocoyo, Bolivia, where they worked with a local community to help build the region s first secondary schoolhouse. Among other forms of reflection, students wrote anticipation papers before their trip and developed an interactive internet web-site upon their return. As part of the reflection incorporated into the course, students who went on the trip explained the experience in discussions with students who remained at home.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

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