ConversationExchange Program: Narrator: Listen to a conversation between a student and his ecology professor. Professor: How is it going? Tom. Tom: Great! I was, oh. I wanted to tell you. You know the guest speaker you brought into class last week from the wildlife conservation center. Professor: Susan Brown. Yes. She is an old friend from graduate school. Tom: Her talk on wildlife population modeling, well, it was very theoretical. Professor: It was certainly a change of pace from what we usually do. Tom: Yeah, but I think I pretty much followed along. Plus, I like to see people get so passionate about ecology. Professor: Oh, right. Ecology is your major field of study, isn't it? Yes, Susan Brown's certainly a lively speaker. What a shame she didn't go into teaching. Tom: Uh, anyway, what I, well, a while ago, I saw this blurb in the school paper about an exchange program that's part of the study abroad office. And today there was booth set up in the student center with a couple of students answering questions about the university's programs in foreign countries. Seeing the booth reminded me about the article in the paper and ... Professor: Thinking about going abroad in the coming year? Tom: Actually I just spent last summer studying in Tokyo. I think that satisfied my urge to travel. Professor: It must've been quite an experience. Tom: Definitely. Taking all those language courses was really challenging. But what I wanted to find out at the booth was: it's ... um ... a domestic exchange program, not studying abroad, but studying for a year somewhere else here in the United States. Professor: I don't think I have heard of that. Tom: Well, neither had the guys in the booth. They didn't know what I was talking about. But when I talked to the supervisor in the study abroad office, it turns out we are part of a ... a group of universities throughout the US that does a domestic exchange program. Professor: Huh! So you spent ... what ... a year at another university and your classes count toward your degree here? Tom: Yeah, and I paid the same fees, tuition, room and board, that I pay here. So it doesn't really cost any extra. Professor: Interesting. Tom: And you know I've lived here in southern Florida my whole life. And I've always been interested in Montana. The university in Montana, where I want to go, has classes that deal specifically with the ecology there. Like I am interested in the greater yellow stone ecosystem. It is such an important ecosystem being the source of three major rivers, and I want to learn more about it. Professor: Wow! This is a unique idea. The climate, the plants and wildlife, it's really different from here, probably the culture too in a way, and don't forget about all the outdoor activities you could do there, hiking, skiing, and the national parks. Tom: That's true. Anyway I'll have to get my application together in the next month or so, and I'll need two letters of recommendation, one from a professor in my major department. Professor: Consider it done. Tom: Thanks.