'As students of international affairs, it is easy to get caught up in the more abstract, academic features of our discipline. Traveling to the places we study, meeting the people, and learning from them in a personal way helps break through that barrier.'
Andrew Balis
Master of Arts in International Affairs '27
"It’s 7:30 pm on March 9th. I’m climbing a winding set of concrete stairs up a hill in Montmartre toward Sacré-Cœur. My muscles ache, and I am sleep-deprived, but I press on. It’s my second time in Paris, but the first as an adult. I had been looking forward to this trip since being accepted to the Europe Short Term Study Abroad in November, but my arrival was not without some trepidation. I don’t speak French, aside from some simple words and phrases, and I haven’t left the US since 2015. Yet I am cognizant of the fact that that’s kind of the point.
Travel changes a person. Getting immersed in a foreign culture is, by definition, an alienating experience. Yet it is through that process of alienation, and subsequent reconciliation, that one achieves personal growth. I felt this in our interactions with everyday Parisians. Communicating in a mixture of broken French and English, I did my best to bridge that cultural and linguistic divide, sometimes successfully, other times not. As students of international affairs, it is easy to get caught up in the more abstract, academic features of our discipline. Traveling to the places we study, meeting the people, and learning from them in a personal way helps break through that barrier.
It’s also a chance to show other countries and people who we are. In every city we travelled to, we met with people from European institutions and NGOs. These were individuals who took time out of their busy schedules to not only talk to us and share their perspectives, but also to learn from us. We were met not just with respect, but with curiosity. On our last night in The Hague, a few of us had the chance to converse over dinner with an international law professor who had lectured us earlier that evening. She asked about our backgrounds, why we chose to study at Elliott, and how it felt to come to Europe as Americans. These conversations could be uneasy at times, but, again, that’s the point.
Travel is a humbling experience. In many ways, that’s what separates it from mere tourism. A short-term study abroad allows you to get much of the perspective and humility that comes from extended international travel when you may not have the opportunity otherwise. But a short-term abroad also has at least one undeniable advantage over more traditional study abroad opportunities: it is a group enterprise. The camaraderie one builds with one’s classmates exploring an unfamiliar place, and the stories that come out of it, are what truly set the experience apart. It’s something one can only get through group travel like a STAP."
Andrew Balis is a first-year graduate student at the Elliott School of International Affairs, pursuing a Master of Arts in International Affairs. He went to a Spring 2026 STAP to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, themed around ethical decision-making in international institutions.