In the upcoming weeks, students can begin to understand what it means to sit in a classroom on the other side of the world.

City College will be offering two study abroad programs for this summer-Intensive Spanish Language in Costa Rica and Marketing Studies in Vienna.

“Marketing and business students need to become global citizens,” said Julie Brown, the marketing professor heading the trip to Vienna. “They need to get out of their comfort zone and break bread with another culture.”

She pulled up Google‘s 2010 Super Bowl XLIV advertisement. In this commercial, a student studies abroad in Paris and ends up marrying a Parisian with the help of a Google search engine.

But this summer’s program will venture away from the marketing hub of Paris.

Instead, students will take “International Marketing” and “Introduction to Electronic Commerce” classes in a whirlwind blogging adventure through Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, and Prague. From July 1 to 29, students will earn six CSU transferable units in four weeks.

“Vienna is the hidden treasure of Europe, a dynamic blend of old and new culture,” Brown said. “Also, Prague was in a vacuum during communism; but now, it’s exploding. It will compete with Paris as the new global and economic center of Europe.”

Students will gain a competitive edge as well.

“If you think about the workforce, even in just California, it’s incredibly diverse,” said Carola Smith, senior director of international programs. “Job seekers need international experience to compete in a multicultural environment.”

Besides boosting a student’s application to a higher spot on the mountainous pile universities receive each year, the program can also create lasting friendships.

Drew Freedman, a City College alum who went on to USC, took advantage of the previous marketing trip to Paris.

“Traveling across the world with a large group of peers is so much different than doing it alone or with a small group,” Freedman said. “You really get to bond with the people you travel with because you share so many incredible experiences with them.”

Contrary to the Google commercial, not everything is available through the touch of a keyboard.

“Visiting these places helped me realize you can only learn so much by reading about things; you really have to go experience something if you want to understand it,” Freedman said.

In another part of the world, Professor Roberto Robledo will be introducing students to the language, culture, and ecologically diverse terrain of Costa Rica.

From the flowing volcano in La Fortuna, to the soaring cloud forest and frog preserve in Monteverde, this trip goes beyond learning Spanish.

“So far most students have had only American experiences,” Robledo said. “By getting away from the U.S., they learn about themselves and gain a whole new perspective.”

Students will have home stays with local families in the suburbs of San Joaquin, Heredia. From June 19 to July 17, they will earn six UC or CSU transferable units in four weeks.

This intensive program will push students to develop their language skills on a daily basis.

“Most students when they leave an American classroom, they switch to English immediately. In Costa Rica, everything’s done in Spanish,” he said. “The students that do the best take advantage of the opportunities all around them.”

Robledo’s first trip to Mexico was in 1973, and he said he continually sees the same reactions program after program.

“They absolutely love it.”

Informational meetings for the Intensive Spanish Language Program in Costa Rica will be held at 1 p.m. on March 10 and at 4:30 p.m. March 23 in the ESL Center-Room 8.

The informational meeting for the Marketing Studies Program in Vienna will be held at 1 p.m. on March 26 in the East Campus Classrooms-Room 12.

Which country will you type into the Google search? Type in “travel abroad” and see where you end up.