Barua spent the past summer in Belgium and France, teaching study abroad. This winter, she will lead her first trip back to India since the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed or stopped travel. The adjunct professor of English shares more about her experiences.
Q: What’s the difference between teaching material in Delaware vs. abroad?
Barua: Teaching abroad is more hands-on and experiential. For example, English 312 (Written Communications in Business) in India is a service-learning course where students are involved in designing and running projects for a non-governmental organization in India and writing their assignments based on those. In Europe they are asked to observe, interview, and survey people and norms in the countries, and write a cultural training document.
Q: Fill in the blank. Students who choose this study abroad experience tend to be…
Barua: Curious, adventurous or at least willing to move out of their comfort zones, and more aware of different cultural points of reference.
Q: What’s your advice to anyone traveling to India for the first time?
Barua: For travel to India, avoid the stereotypical view by learning a bit about its current culture. India is a secular democracy with the most participated elections in the world, where English is used in business, and various languages are spoken in different states. Don't go in with a savior mentality. Indian women have held positions of power in local and national governments, police departments and nonprofits for decades. Practical advice: Use the official, credible channels for transportation, taxis, tickets, phone cards, etc., and don't go wandering on your own or try to do street deals.
Q: What has India taught you?
Barua: Working with the children and adults in marginalized, poor communities, and seeing their joy and curiosity in simple moments has taught me (and many of my students) that happiness does not depend on material things.