Last time in the sandbox, first time in the denki furo
By Marcia Goodrich
July 2000 Alumnus Magazine
For instance, Jessica Bibbee, who graduated this year with a BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology, probably never would have experienced adventure cuisine--rabbit brains and chicken feet--if she hadn’t gone to China. Meals are different in a country where nourishment is not taken for granted. “They get about 10 different dishes all from one duck, and sometimes I didn’t know what I was eating,” Bibbee said. “You could outright tell it was an organ, but I quit asking which one after awhile.” Bibbee recently completed an internship at a year-old Heitkamp and Thumann Metal Manufacturing Company plant in Dongguan, China, which makes the outsides of Duracell batteries. Her official responsibility was to design a ventilation system for the presses used to make the cans. Unofficially, she did a lot more. “I got to share things I didn’t know I knew,” she said. “I realized I’d never learned it in a course, that I just knew it.” So she honed her management and problem-solving skills, plus set up maintenance schedules and an inventory control system at the fledgling plant. And she communicated like crazy, speaking mainly English but also a semblance of Chinese. “I’m sure it was really ugly,” she admits. “But we did communicate. I’m hoping to return, work several years, and become fluent so those barriers don't exist.” Those barriers are faced by foreigners everywhere. “When you are a foreigner, you feel like an idiot and people think you are,” she said. However, there are opportunities to bridge those gaps. Looking back, she believes her China internship has eclipsed her classroom experiences. “I am ready to be done with formal education. When you are abroad, you learn and you learn, and you don't even have to try.” The reason Bibbee got to go to China was because, months before, somebody posed a question. “When we were visiting with our Asian alums, Curt [MTU president Curt Tompkins] asked , ‘What can Michigan Tech do for you?’” said Elsie White, director of international advancement programs. “John Benaglio ’70 (managing director of Heitkamp and Thurmann Asia Pacific) said, ‘Send us some good students.’ ” International experience gives students a sense of global business, as well as the skills and instincts needed to succeed in different cultures. And it can also help stateside. “It gives you a sense of what it’s like to not be included,” White said. “Suddenly, they are not exactly part of something. They often become more sensitive to others when they come back.” Into the Denki Furo At six-foot-something with a mop of strawberry-blond hair, Tomas Brokaw knows a little about being an outsider. “Being a foreigner in Japan, I stand out a lot,” he says. “Little kids wave at you, and sometimes you get funny looks.” Brokaw took a few months away from Tech to learn Japanese language and culture at the Japan Center for Michigan Universities, located in Hikone. “Being an applied ecology major, this actually slows down my graduation a bit, but I know it will be worth it,” he said. “It’s given me the opportunity to see first hand things I’ve only heard or read about Asian culture before.” He has been astonished at the politeness of the Japanese people and has sought out new experiences, enjoying sushi of raw sea urchin and squid. In some ways, however, Brokaw did not have to adapt. A lifelong Copper Country resident and sauna addict, he caught on immediately to the onsen, the Japanese-style public baths. After steeping in an infusion of Chinese herbal medicines, Brokaw eased into the denki furo, a hot tub that featured an electric current flowing between two panels. “If you actually stood right between them, you could feel the electricity pulsating through your whole body”" he said. “My arms were twitching uncontrollably.” While the whole experience may seem only slightly more enticing than bathing with a plugged-in hair dryer, Brokaw remained enthusiastic. “It’s supposed to be good for your health,” he said. “I loved the denki furo.” Foreign Aid for Education International education is no longer a luxury for liberal arts majors, says James Cross, who directs MTU’s Center for International Education. “Young people now can expect to change jobs five to seven times, and it’s highly likely that they’ll be involved in international travel, maybe even be employed by a foreign company. International experience is becoming an imperative.” And the skills students gain while rubbing shoulders with another culture mesh with the qualities Fortune 500 CEOs are seeking in their fast-track employees. “The technical skills they take for granted,” Cross said. “They are looking for people who are open to change, who are sensitive to other people and cultures, and have excellent communication skills.” And it doesn’t hurt to know a foreign language. In some areas, graduates with international experience and a second language are commanding salaries up to one-third higher than their peers, Cross said. ”Many of our students are first-generation college students, and their parents are making a significant sacrifice,” he said. “It’s important to consider this an investment.” But studying abroad is about more than money. “Really, this is the student’s last chance in the sandbox, where they have this great opportunity for learning without the responsibilities of a job and family. They’ll gain maturity and amazing experiences.” Brokaw agrees. “Even though this puts off my graduation by six months or so and has cost me some money, I know this will be the most valuable and unforgettable semester of my college career. Anyone who is thinking of it should go for it.”
The finest paths are rarely level and straight. Most delights lie in the detours. So, while working or studying abroad may not be the most direct track to a degree and a good job, the rewards will almost assuredly be well worth the trip.
On her internship, Bibbee lived with the other workers in a dormitory. One worker, a man in his early fifties, played a traditional, two-stringed instrument called the er hu. At night, he attended impromptu English classes led by Bibbee and offered to teach her to play. “It was incredible,” she said. “He took me under his wing, just like a daughter.”
“First we washed up and went into the sauna, which was a real sauna, at least 200 degrees,” he said. “Then we dunked in an ice-cold tub to cool off, and then went into a steaming hot bath with what appeared to be a giant teabag.”