ADVICE FROM THE TALKING PICTURE BOX

Studying abroad is about more than just picking a cool place to bed down for a semester. It’s also about what you get from the whole experience. But you don’t want to be caught in such a culture shock that the trip ends up being a bad time. If baguettes and wine make you queasy than you can cross France right off your list of choices. If kangaroos are a source of torment and anxiety than perhaps Australia isn’t for you. But as the Aussies would say, ‘no worries.’ I would be a bad American if I turned to anything other than television shows to tell me what to do. Thus, here are a few shows to help facilitate your choice of Study Abroad destinations.

Parts Unknown

If you didn’t think Anthony Bourdain was going to be on this list then shame on you. This guy has made the better half of his living on the Travel Channel’s No Reservations but now has an even more compelling program on CNN titled Parts Unknown. The two shows are like a PC and a Mac; mostly the same except they are not.

Parts Unknown follows the familiar voice of Bourdain throughout many exotic locations. Some notable mentions include Copenhagen, Johannesburg, Spain, and more. Unlike his previous TV stint, Bourdain takes a little bit of a back seat in this series and lets locals squire him about town. What? You don’t like the idea of watching a famous celebrity chef and entrepreneur eat at Sizzler in L.A.’s Koreatown? The food on the show is stellar and takes the stage while witty humor, local flavor, and an overwhelming sense of unfamiliarity make this show perfect for a preliminary dissection of your potential host city.

PBS Nature

Yes I said it. PBS. Please, hold your cries of boredom back because public broadcasting can do you a lot of good. It’s surprising how many fellow 20-somethings I know don’t indulge in the wealth of material available through the Public Broadcasting Service.

Nature could actually be what reveals some of the most enticing beauty about where you’ll be studying. I had a friend go to Africa for a while and his instagram turned into a tangible form of all that stuff you see during “The Circle of Life.” Here’s the lowdown on the PBS nature docs. First of all, they are spectacular and have a fair amount of production value. They’re shot beautifully. Second, they are free to watch so for those of us (raise your hand) Netflix junkies will have no problem watching them online.

These docs have gorgeous pictures of the landscapes and wildlife in the regions they’re filmed. I already know that if possible you are all going to Snapchat everyone with the obligatory shot of the plane’s wing when you’re airborne but how about when you actually land? If aesthetics are important to your vibe and you need an idea of what the rainforest really looks and feels like then you can turn to PBS and the Nature series for a helpful preview.

Music Voyager

This show is more of a bonus because as far as I know it’s only available on Amazon Instant Video. You can probably score the service for free temporarily if you haven’t exhausted an Amazon Student account (free Prime and Instant Video). Music Voyager features Ethnomusicologist Jacob Edgar around the world as he explores foreign beats. The slogan is ‘Tune in to the World.” Sounds “Study Abroad” enough for me.

The locations he’s covered include the West Indies, India and East Asia, Louisiana, and beyond. Music is a spectacular way to explore a region and culture due to the fact that even instruments are location based objects. The rhymes and rhythm of another country can tell you the history of its people, and its future. For those of us that want to capture the true essence of a specific region and culture Music Voyager is there to offer some guidance.

– Mark Melchior

Mark Melchior is a recent graduate of the Park school of Communications, Ithaca College. 

Connect with Mark through LinkedIn.