For those considering jetting off to lands unknown, the School of Business’ informational meeting covering studying abroad was the place to go Tuesday.

Professors will be taking students to explore China and Europe, each trip offering something different to enhance the learning experience of Eastern students.

Marko Grünhagen, a marketing professor in the business department, will be taking the participating students to China in the coming summer, with two weeks in Beijing and another week in Hong Kong.

Sightseeing is one of the major draws for studying abroad, Grünhagen said. In the past, popular attractions have included such sites as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Olympic Village.

The all-inclusive cost for the Summer 2011 China trip is estimated at $4,500. The trip to China will be very structured, at least in comparison to the Europe trip, Grünhagen said.

David Boggs, an assistant management professor in the business department, organized the Europe trip. He said moving with relative freedom around Europe is part of the experience for the European study abroad program.

As part of the cost of the trip, a fee for a 30-day Euro pass is included.

This allows for unlimited train travel for students, the effective means of transportation in Europe.

“You can arrive 30 seconds before [the train] leaves and go,” Boggs said. Because of this, students can travel with more ease, with some additional cost to the trip.

“If you want to bounce all around Europe, you can,” said Patrick Lach, an assistant finance professor in the business department.

Lach, Boggs, and Grünhagen answered questions from students about topics ranging from financial aid for the trip to where the credits earned by the trip would fit into their major.

Ultimately, the experience of studying abroad is the lesson to be learned during the trip.

“It is a very different environment, but that’s part of why you go on a study abroad trip to see something that is different, something that is exotic, and try to deal with it,” Grünhagen said.

Earning three to six credits towards graduation and experiencing a different culture are only a couple of the reasons students study abroad, in many different majors.

“They get exposed to business and culture in a foreign country, but there is also learning how to travel with others, how to share a room with others, learning things about yourself that you didn’t know,” Grünhagen said.

Mel Boydston can be reached at 581-7942 or mmboydston@eiu.edu.

Assistant Professor of Management David Boggs explains the different places students can travel to in the Netherlands study abroad program Tuesday in Lumpkin Hall. (Danny Damiani

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