This summer, some ISU students experienced an area far different than central Iowa when they immersed themselves in Indian culture during a study abroad trip.

Students from the colleges of liberal arts and sciences, agriculture and design visited the Asian subcontinent from May 14 to June 24 to experience the culture, civilizations and contemporary issues of India.

Balmurli Natrajan, assistant professor of anthropology, started the study abroad program to India because of the value of real-world experience to education, he said.

“It is difficult to convey the complexity of a place only through classroom instruction,” Natrajan said. “Study abroad is an invaluable experience that can’t be duplicated in class.”

Natrajan prepared students for the trip, designed the syllabus with the Center for Indian Studies and taught during the trip to India. For the first two weeks, ISU agronomy professor Ricardo Salvador joined Natrajan in India.

“India is a charmed place on the surface of the planet,” Salvador said. “There is always something new to see. It is a mix of the ancient and new, the caste versus the industrial.”

In the final four weeks, women’s studies instructor Vidya Kalaramadam joined Natrajan and the students.

“I was a sounding board for some of their doubts on cultural appropriateness in behavior,” Kalaramadam said. “One of the high points of my trip there was to see the ‘learning moments’ that students had— which ranged from moments of emotional outbursts, to very disparate comparisons and how they negotiated their way through this.”

Students lived in Mysore, India, and took two courses, receiving six credits in either anthropology, art and design, agronomy or sustainable agriculture. Indian professors held classes for 16 days, and discussions often followed class. Course requirements also included reading assignments, keeping a journal, reading the newspaper, writing papers and completing a project.

Students traveled to a variety of field sites to become knowledgeable of topics related to their different majors.

“You can’t match the rate and quality of learning of being at a site,” Salvador said. “In a classroom, no matter how high-tech your audio-visual equipment is or how experienced of a lecturer you have, you can’t match the immersion of being at a site.”

Students studied religion and the famous architecture of temples at Belur and Halebid, the Jain temple Sravanabelgola, the Buddhist kingdom of Badami and the Gol Gumbaz mosque. Tours of the archeological site at Hampi and traveling to Chennai were also on the agenda. In Chennai, students visited organic farms and learned about a rainwater-harvesting project and farming without the use of pesticides.

“It was really interesting to see first-hand what archeology sites really look like,” said Matthew Tedrow, senior in history. “I found it really interesting to see a completely different culture. The food, the way people travel- — it was all completely different from here. It was one of the most positive school experiences I’ve ever had.”

Tedrow and the other students’ experiences reflects the intent of the study abroad program.

“Study abroad can be the most profound educational experience a student will have during college. It challenges the traveler intellectually, emotionally, and physically,” said Trevor Nelson, the study abroad program’s coordinator and assistant director. “It necessitates a rethinking of basic assumptions concerning how society functions, the role of citizens in that society, and the part the individual wishes to play in the future.”

Seeing a different culture allowed students to better understand their own. “As they discovered India, the students discovered what it means to be Americans,” Natrajan said. “They were not there as tourists. They were there to educate themselves and others. They had many stereotypes of India, and the people had many stereotypes of Americans.”

Natrajan said that he would like to expand the program for next summer, extending it to eight weeks and adding a week long internship and a trip to the Taj Mahal. He encouraged students and faculty to study abroad.

“Faculty should study abroad,” Natrajan said. “I knew how much I would teach. I did not know how much I would learn.”