My name is Neveah Killsnight and I participated in a Cheyenne Language class taught through Virtual Reality this summer. The Cheyenne Virtual Reality Project was created by Northern Cheyenne Community members through the American Institute for Research (AIR). The purpose of the class is to learn how Virtual Reality (VR) can support language learning. There were 13 total students and 2 instructors from locations all over the United States. All of the participants are Northern Cheyenne tribal members. The program provides the participants with Meta Headsets. All of the participants were at different levels, so I wasn’t sure how much we were going to learn. I had no experience using virtual reality headsets either, so I really did not know what to expect. 

The class met weekly on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday for 1.5 hours at a time. The class started in March and ended in August. In addition to these meetings, there was homework assigned outside of class as well. The goal was to get 10 hours of language learning a week. These 10 hours were a mix of individual and group practice. All of the students were starting from a different level; some had never taken a class before, some were being taught at home but never taken a class, and some were more advanced. In other words, there was no requirement for the participants’ Cheyenne language level. As far as the virtual reality space, it was created to look like the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. There was a small teepee village, a fire, a sweat lodge, a wood cabin, river and spring, and animals.  

I came into this program only having taken one Cheyenne class at Chief Dull Knife College the summer prior. I lived with Cheyenne speakers who taught me a few words, and I would hear them speak the language to each other. I knew basic words and how to say my name and introduce myself. During this class, we learned how to introduce ourselves and others, animals, how to introduce our family (mother, father, grandparents), how to say what you were doing or where you came from, and other basic phrases. As class progressed and we became more comfortable with VR, we stopped being able to see the spelling of the words and only learned by ear. Learning this way brought us closer as a class because we had to interact more and learn from each other. Even though we are at different locations we have become closer as a group. Additionally, working with people who were at different levels was actually beneficial for our class. The ones who were at a higher level were able to assist others, and we all learned from one another.

Learning in the virtual reality setting that was created to look like the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, reminded me of stories that my grandparents would tell about how he grew up. My grandpa and grandma were both Cheyenne speakers, it was their first language and English was their second. My grandpa would always tell us about the wood cabin he grew up in. I remember once we were driving on the highway, and he knew the land so well. As we drove and he would tell us the history, he pointed at a small creek and told us that was where he used to play, he pointed at the abandoned buildings and told us who lived there, and other stories. Learning in this setting that looked like home made me feel more connected to my culture and family, even when I was across the state in Missoula.

Through this experience, I learned the importance of making language learning more accessible to tribal members throughout the United States. Our tribal college offers language in-person classes, but it might be hard to access them unless you live on our reservation. Almost half of the total enrolled Northern Cheyenne tribal members live off the reservation. The Cheyenne language is also considered an endangered language, due to assimilation, colonialism, boarding schools, and other government policies that discouraged speaking of native languages. Our language is crucial to our identity and holds so much cultural and spiritual significance. It is important that we continue to learn our language so it does not disappear. I know that this struggle is shared with many indigenous people throughout the world. The Cheyenne Language VR Project taught me so much about language revitalization.

Before this class, I never even thought that learning a language through virtual reality was possible, even the online classes I took were challenging. The language classes I have taken were very structured, and we were always able to see the language spelled out. This class was very immersive. Through this experience, I was able to learn Cheyenne the way our ancestors did; through interacting with each other and hands-on practice. This expanded my knowledge on how we learn a language, and I hope that this can be used to make language learning more accessible in the future.

I spent a semester studying abroad in Florence, Italy. I was very excited for this experience, but I didn’t really know what to expect. Before leaving, I had done a lot of reading and research on Italy and Italian culture. Although this helped my understanding of the culture, nothing can compare to living there and experiencing it first-hand. Many things were exactly as I expected, but many things also took me by surprise. Adjusting to a new culture is difficult, but I found that to be one of the most fulfilling things about studying abroad. There certainly things that were frustrating, but I learned that cultures tend to be very quick to judge another culture. Learning to keep an open mind was not always easy, but studying abroad helped with that and taught me that cultural differences are not always bad, but different. Doing things differently does not make it wrong. I’ve even adopted some Italian ways of doing things into my daily life since moving back home.

My global theme is resources and sustainability and the challenge for my beyond the classroom experience was how to make food production, consumption, and disposal more sustainable and ethical. I took a class called ethics and justice in food systems. The class focused on ethics and sustainability in food systems in Italy, as well as around the world. We discussed a range of topics, including food waste, the economy around food, social movements regarding food, and even learned about organized crime around food and agromafia. Learning about food while living in Italy was fascinating, since Italians have a proud culture surrounding their food. It was interesting to learn about food systems in a country where it tends to be more sustainable and then compare it to the food systems in the United States. A very memorable moment from my experience and this class specifically was learning about and trying lampredotto. This is a traditional Florentine street food. It is made from the final stomach of the cow, cooked in a vegetable broth and served inside a bread roll. Italians have a tradition of “cucina povera,” which translates to “poor kitchen,” but is a style of cuisine in which no food is wasted. Because that part of the cow would usually be thrown away, lampredotto is a great example of this. My professor taught us about this but wanted us to try it and truly experience it. Although it wasn’t my favorite food, I am very glad I tried it. After our meal, a few of us sat with our professor and discussed our eating habits back in the United States, compared to Italy. We talked about grocery shopping, cooking, and how we dispose of food. It was interesting to discuss the differences on such a personal level. Because of this class, I’ve changed many of my eating habits to be more sustainable. For example, I try to use everything I buy to reduce food waste, and I try to buy from more local and sustainable producers. They are small changes, but even that can make a small difference.

Studying abroad was instrumental in my personal growth, especially my leadership skills. I have become more confident and outgoing. Because I met so many new people, my ability to connect with new people has improved. For example, I noticed and improvement while at work over the summer. I worked at a state park and was easily able to connect and converse with guests and was more confident enforcing park rules. I was able to confidently train new employees and take the lead on multiple projects. Overall, I had a great time studying abroad; I learned a ton, I gained new perspectives on peoples and cultures, and I grew as a person.

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I spent my Beyond the Classroom Experience in Thailand for three months. I had little expectation for what my journey was going to entail. I had my preconceived ideas about Thailand and the culture there. Now, having returned home deeply reflected my time there, my expectations were beyond anything I could have ever imagined.  I spent time in remote villages, elephant sanctuaries, 30 meters/100 feet under water, and many street markets.

For the first month or so, I spent my time with Growth International Volunteer Excursions, otherwise known as GIVE Volunteers. Upon arrival, I was truly blown away by the attention to detail and consideration they had. From the start, we were given a short Thai lesson and were told about culturally appropriate attire. GIVE did a phenomenal job making sure the volunteers were emerged in the cultures surrounding our work and learning as much as we could. If not for GIVE, I do not think I would have experienced Thai culture in the same way. While volunteering, we worked in schools to teach english based on the curriculum the teachers were following. At one of the schools we built a garden for the children to grow their own produce. Another part of volunteering was learning about ethical elephant tourism and how sanctuaries do their best to keep the elephants healthy and have safe interactions with tourists. The final part of volunteering included getting scuba certified and exploring the importance of ocean conservation. In Krabi, we took coral reef and Black Tip Reef Shark surveys.

My Global Challenge during this experience was exploring the overlap between culture, sustainability, and conservation in indigenous communities, and how has western colonialism interrupted this connection. I had the opportunity to learn from local guides about the Indigenous Peoples of Thailand. While volunteering with GIVE Volunteers, my fellow volunteers and I spent time learning about local culture and traditions. Many of these practices took more than one person. Because these tasks require more than one person, their culture is very community focused and centered around helping each one another out. This idea made me think about how my actions would affect these communities we spent time in. Spending baht, the Thai currency, in a 7-Eleven does not go as far as it did at the local shop in the hill tribes. My perspective on the community and my own actions in the community have changed. I have a greater appreciation for the small day-to-day things. I also find myself being more mindful about the small things I do in my life that could have lasting change.

After I departed from the give, I made my way down to Koh Tao. Koh Tao means “Turtle Island.” Koh Tao is considered a remote island in the Gulf of Thailand. I spent several weeks here scuba diving and completing different specialties that work towards becoming a Master Scuba Diver. I had the great privilege and opportunity to see some of the most beautiful reefs and deep dive sites. The dive company I dived with, Black Turtle Dive, is a conservation dive center. They work with organizations around Koh Tao to establish a healthier relationship between tourists and the coral reefs. I had the opportunity to learn about artificial reefs and divers perceptions of them from one of the dive students I was certified with. I spent time diving with people from all over the world. I had dive instructors who were Scottish, French, Thai, and English. It was awesome to be a part of an activity that does not exclude anyone based on race, religion, or gender. That is one of my favorite things about scuba diving. Anyone can do it no matter who you are, with limitations to physical health factors.  

Thailand is a melting pot of cultures, religions, travelers, and expats. One thing I learned to practice was to remain curious rather than being judgmental. Spending time around people from all over the world meant I was going to see or hear things that were outside of my cultural norms. However, taking a step back and remembering that whatever is abnormal to me, may be normal to someone else. I found this was an easier topic to think about rather than doing it. It is easy to sit in a classroom or at home and believe you are to be open-minded and welcoming to all ideas. Experiencing cultures far from your own is destined to make one feel awkward. Two things can be true at once. I was fascinated with the cultures I was surrounded by, and sometimes I was unfamiliar with the cultural standards of others. With that said, I tried to remain curious and not judge other peoples’ experiences. I can use what I have learned about curiosity instead of judgement in leadership settings. I can ask people about their approach to a conflict or any situation that requires someone to step in.

I feel lucky that my family was able to spend the last few weeks with me. We spent time on the islands Koh Tao and Koh Samui. Afterwards we did a liveaboard in the Andaman Sea, around Koh Lipe. Then we traveled to Railay Beach and took a boat tour through the Phi Phi Islands where we saw the world famous limestone cliffs.

When I reflect on my time in Thailand, I feel a wave of bittersweetness. I could go back and spend a few years there learning about the culture even more and learning more about myself. At the same time, I love my home and community in Missoula. It is a great privilege to travel to another country and spend so much time with yourself. I now walk through life with more gratitude and appreciation for my life.

Studying abroad has always been a dream of mine. Last spring, I lived in Amiens, France. An hour and a half from Paris, canals wind through the city, and a beautiful Gothic cathedral towers over downtown. I took classes at the university that included a mix of studio art, art history, and French. I loved wandering around the streets, visiting local boulangeries and magasins. I traveled to several countries during my time abroad and loved the opportunity to visit so many unique places (and specifically their art museums).

Leading up to my trip abroad, I was a mix of anxiety and excitement. I prepared as best I could, but you can never quite expect every challenge you will encounter. My first night in Amiens, my small suitcase was stolen from the dorm lobby. I was incredibly disappointed and immediately started spiraling. However, I did my best to move forward and keep my chin up. It was situations like this that I couldn’t have planned for, but that taught me I can get through rough patches.

My expectations heading abroad were that I would befriend people from all over the world, travel, and advance my French language skills. While I do feel that I succeeded in these areas, they weren’t without their complications. Meeting other international students took longer than I had hoped. But as the semester progressed, I met my international peers and made friends organically in my classes. I was able to travel over long weekends and school breaks and saw many different countries as well as nearby French cities. Communicating in French wasn’t perfect, but I was determined. Many people appreciated my enthusiastic, albeit flawed, French. Ultimately, even though the semester looked a bit different than I had imagined, I made great friends, went to incroyable new places, and got out of my comfort zone.  

My global theme is Public and Global Health, and I hope to become a medical illustrator. I took a comic drawing class at my university, and I had so much fun learning about how to convey a story using art. I hope to use what I learned in this class in my work to make scientific information accessible across demographics. Healthcare was an interesting topic of discussion. France offers its residents free healthcare and inexpensive treatments. Thankfully, I didn’t have to visit a doctor during my time abroad, but I visited the local pharmacies. In France, many medications are more natural and herb-based, and the volume of medications is more regulated. You can’t find medicines at the grocery store or anywhere other than the pharmacy. The international office gave us all French–English healthcare guides which offered advice, vocabulary, and useful phrases for health-related issues you may encounter. I found this illustrated pocket guide to be a great resource and an example of how art and healthcare, and even travel, can be combined.  

Amiens is a very culturally diverse town. Growing up in Montana, I was not surrounded by as many different cultures as in France, so I enjoyed being immersed in the diversity of food, religion, and discourse. One thing that surprised me was how prominent the English language was. All the international students spoke English, and that was how we communicated. It was convenient for me, but I felt a sort of strange privilege having English as my first language. Many people questioned why I bother to study another language when I know English. Ultimately, it is important to keep other languages alive to preserve cultures, and learning another language has challenged me intellectually. Having a strong grasp of French allowed me to travel smoothly throughout the country and make friends with locals.

This experience forced me to navigate many tricky situations and advocate for myself often. It reminded me that I can do hard things, but that it’s ok to lean on those around me for help when I need it. I believe my leadership skills have greatly benefited from the personal growth I experienced on this trip. I made myself available for my friends who were experiencing homesickness or other issues while abroad. To foster community, I organized a Galentine’s party for all the international gals. I wanted to gather everyone and include them in a tradition I have back home. Many girls later told me how nice the event was, and I was so pleased to have created this moment.  

I will cherish the memories from this trip and always appreciate how my time abroad contributed to where I am today. The challenges paired with the highlights made this experience entirely worth it. À la prochaine fois, Amiens!