Surrounded by stately buildings, freshly mowed lawns and well maintained walkways, it is hard to imagine replacing these marks of refinement with stray dogs, overflowing sewers and ubiquitous putrid smells — things that commonly adorn a snapshot of life in Nepal.

In addition to the poor living conditions, Nepal is struggling to recover from the 10-year civil war that ended in 2006. The United States believes the conditions are not stable enough to lift the travel warning on Nepal or remove the Maoists, the major ruling party in the republic, from the terror black list. With lingering concerns about safety, fewer students have participated in the Cornell-Nepal Study Program (CNSP), the only program that Cornell Abroad exclusively administers.

This is the first in a two part series examining how international political strife is affecting students’ study abroad plans.

Since January of this year, faculty strikes in Paris have altered 18 Cornell students’ study abroad experiences, taking place through the Emory-Duke-Cornell (EDUCO) program at the University of Paris.

EDUCO hosts a Paris Abroad program for students attending either of the three universities in its name. Cornell students studying abroad in Paris through EDUCO signed up this semester for one of its four partner universities in the French capital: University of Paris 1: Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris 4: La Sorbonne, Paris 7: Denis-Diderot and Institute d’Etudes Politiques (Sciences-Po).

Bonjour!

I have taken seven years of French. I can order a crepe and a glass of red wine. Additionally, I have ordered a Jesus steak, but we will get to that later.

At any rate, my French is super crap, seriously mediocre. Regardless, I have ventured to France with poor friend A in tow, in order to eat many crepes and drink many glasses of red wine. I was a bit afraid to enter the nation of macaroons and bald soccer (futball) players, not to mention that weird skunk guy on Les Loony Tunes, but I went ahead, bravely going where many tres stupide American etudiantes have gone before.

1. Crepes are awesome.

2. Wine is better.

3. Let me tell you our tale.

Dear A,

Over It

Dear Over It,

In these dark times, when betting on horses yields better returns than the stock market, hedge fund manager and amateur hedge fund manager alike must look for other means of making money easily. To those considering selling junk on ebay, stuffing envelopes in your home, starting a Ponzi scheme or gambling to make an honest dollar, hark! I know of a way you can get richer by doing absolutely nothing. Really. And you don’t even have to pay me for a book to tell you how.

This proven and reliable get-rich-quick scheme is called deflation, and it’s a great reason to start recycling your beer cans. Deflation means that the purchasing power of the dollar increases. Or, in simple terms, that the five-cent refund from your beer cans buys more now than it did before.

With so much news focusing on economic problems at home, some Cornellians might not be aware that changes in the international value of the U.S. dollar have the potential to affect study abroad, a program in which over 800 undergraduates participate each year.

Changing dollar exchange rates have always been an issue in the U.S., and events like the formation of the European Union have caused dramatic fluctuations Off we goin the value of the dollar. But with decreasing prosperity at home, will the exchange rate issue become more important to Cornellians hoping to study abroad?

Having now lived half my life in this country, I like to think that I have a pretty good understanding of what makes America and its citizens tick. But there is still one thing I don’t get.

Why do you want to study in Paris?

Study abroad is often considered to be a big part of the undergraduate experience with roughly 20 percent of Cornell students taking an international semester before they graduate. Within the past year, however, the value of the dollar has declined dramatically relative to other currencies, potentially having an impact on the study abroad program at Cornell and at other universities.

The dollar has fallen about 30 percent in value compared to the euro over the last 12 months. Currently, one euro is estimated to be about $1.47 and one pound is estimated to be about $1.99. The dollar is weak, especially in Europe, which is a popular destination for travelers and students who want to study abroad.

The University is currently reviewing a subpoena issued by the New York Attorney General’s Office on Jan. 15, according to Simeon Moss ’73, director of Cornell Press Relations. Cornell is one of 15 colleges and universities that received subpoenas as part of an ongoing investigation into the way study abroad programs are selected.

Only one percent of students enrolled in higher-education programs choose to study abroad. At Cornell, the number is significantly higher — nearly one in five students choose to spend time studying outside of Ithaca. With twenty percent of Cornellians traveling to programs in nations from Japan to Ecuador, safety for students abroad has become a major issue.

According to Kristen Grace, associate director of the Cornell Abroad office, the study abroad field has seen huge growth in recent decades.

“Study abroad as we know it really came into being after World War Two,” Grace said. “There was a realization that we really need to build international understanding.”

This growth has led to an increased demand for comprehensive safety for students abroad.