Study abroad programs can challenge students to adapt to a new culture, but as one young woman who attended the Ithaca College Trenton program last semester is finding, fitting back into Ithaca culture can be even harder.

“At first, when I told my parents I wanted to study abroad in New Jersey, they were a little resistant,” senior Gail Urbane said. “With the current global-political situation, they didn’t want me somewhere so unstable.”

According to Urbane, life in Trenton, N.J. — which sits 65 miles southwest of New York City — is a far cry from what Ithaca College students are accustomed to. Due to its larger size, public transportation is a must, and “almost nobody lays around smoking hookahs.”

Urbane has decided to help her friends realize what a sheltered life they lead while she was away, so that they too, could grow as people.

“I really wish she’d shut up,” said Kelly Forthright, Urbane’s friend of three years. “Before she studied abroad, she thought every city had an Apple Harvest Festival.” But her experience in the Garden State capital has given Urbane more than just an open mind­ ­— it’s given her a new mission in life.

“Trenton has some of the most underfunded schools in the Greater Trenton Area,” she said. “So this year I’m starting the Ithaca College Students for Trenton Public Schools of Mercer County Alliance (ICS4TPSMCA) to bring greater awareness to the pivotal issue of our time.”

Urbane’s friends have pledged to support her in whatever endeavor she undertakes. “She just invites us over and then we sit around listening to her talk in this really fake Jersey accent — excuse me, I mean Joysie,” says Forthright. “She says it’s hard to break the habit, but maybe it would help if she did something besides show everyone all the pictures she took while she was there.”

In order to cope with the reverse culture shock, Urbane and other study abroad students have been attending group therapy sessions at the Counseling Center. During those sessions, Urbane can share her stories without fear of being judged.

“It’s almost like people try to compete with each other to tell the best story and seem worldlier,” she says. “But if they had gone on the Ithaca College Trenton Program, they would know that selfishness and competition are what’s hurting the world.”

When Urbane graduates in the spring, she plans to continue exploring the world.

“I’m thinking of getting my graduate degree in either Ithaca College Pittsburg or Ithaca College St. Louis,” she says. “But I don’t know if I’m brave enough.”