What to Expect: Studying Abroad!

Everyone feels overwhelmed going to a new place for the first time! When I decided to study abroad I felt overwhelmed with excitement but also nerves. Am I going to handle being away from home? Will I make friends? What will the language barrier be like? Theses are all questions I asked myself. Now after spending five months abroad, I am confident you all will be ok too and have the time of your life!

What can I expect abroad...

• RESEARCH

• Homesickness

• Being safe

• Growing as a person

• Gaining more knowledge and empathy

• Sickness

• Cost

• BECOMING THE ULTIMATE TRAVELER

My personal experience:

I decided to choose a program with CIEE. This was actually the best choice I could have picked. This is an affiliate program through my University that I ultimately decided to pick after countless research.

Fun fact: I was going to study abroad the whole semester in the UK... but I'm so glad I didn’t!

Here's why:

With CIEE they allow you to study in three different countries or even continents! Ultimately one thing you need to decide... Is your goal to travel? Learn a new language? Immerse yourself fully in one country?

For me, my goal was to travel to as many countries as possible. Although I do feel I missed out on fully embracing one country and really learning their culture. But thats ok! Everyone will have a different experience and as long as you get yourself abroad, that is what matters most.

Now... an important part about studying abroad is doing your RESEARCH before hand.

Personally I knew I wanted to study abroad two years before I actually went. If you are reading this and want to study abroad next semester, thats ok too. Being spontaneous can be great too. I will say, make sure the program you are picking is the right one for you. I know it can be hard to know and honestly you won't know until you go, but what you can do, is read this blog about my personal experience as well as ask others either online or at your schools International office.

Things that are the most important to research is...

• Will you be doing an affiliate or non affiliate program (add hyperlink)

• The location you pick (what is transportation like, how expensive is it, etc.)

• The school you pick abroad (does the school allow you to travel, have field trips, english speaking, etc.)

HOMESICKNESS

I'm sure you've all heard that this is one of the main points as to why people don't study abroad. Personally, I go out of state for school and am pretty comfortable being on my own. However, when I was abroad I did feel more homesick than I had in my previous years in school (hyperlink). That being said, I have known people who are complete homebodies that have studied abroad and were just fine. It all depends on the person. Don't let this steer you away from going abroad. It is something to consider but being able to overcome this experience while abroad will equip you will skills in life to deal with hard things alone (which is a super valuable skill!!).

BEING SAFE

While abroad, you will experience all kinds of events. Like always its important to know your limits and be safe. You are in a foreign country with different rules, laws, and social norms!!! I know its annoying to hear but hopefully you can take my advice coming from a college student too. You don't think it could happen until it actually happens to you.

For example, in my personal experience abroad I had a friend get roofied, phone taken straight out of a friends hand, and almost gotten into a bad situation over an uber ride.

Roofing does happen abroad especially in very touristy parts. For me it happened in Madrid, Spain so just be aware and always have a friend. I know it can be annoying if you are having a fun night and now need to take care of someone you may have just met, but you could save their life. Luckily I went with a group and we were able to get her home safely but anything can happen.

Always go with a buddy in an uber/transportation service. Yes there may be situations where you need to get somewhere alone and thats ok too. I would be more careful when going out to the bars and clubs where you've been drinking and doing drugs. Personally, I went with a group and a girl I was with left her phone in a transportation service called "FreeNow". We luckily had find my phone and tracked her phone. It took an hour to get it back and when we went to the car he demanded money to get it back (which is super illegal btw). Uber or any transportation service has to give you your belongings back. Luckily there were very kind bouncers (shoutout M-Bia in Berlin, Germany) that were able to communicate with the driver in German. The police almost got involved and it could've ended bad if we didn't have the resources we did. That being said, be careful with trying a new service abroad and trust your gut.

GROWING AS A PERSON

You are going to encounter lots of different cultures, languages, and people while abroad. You will inherently change whether you like it or not. But don't worry it will be good change. Experiencing the world is so important for humanity. You gain so much empathy and can connect the dots with previously information you have learned. You will learn how to be alone, navigate public transportation, how to book trips with a strict budget, talk to LOTS of different people, and so much more. When interviewing for jobs with will be such an amazing thing to talk about and put on your resume. People want their employees to be well versed in different countries because it allows them to grow their business.

GAINING MORE KNOWLEDGE AND EMPATHY

While abroad you will meet all kinds of people. With this, you will gain a ton of knowledge and information you may have not known before. Along with this you will travel to different countries and realize how different each one is. You may see extreme poverty, lifestyle differences, beautiful towns, etc. All of these factors will allow you to gain more empathy and realize how lucky you are to live where you live. Or maybe even the opposite! Which is all important in making you a better and more empathetic person.

SICKNESS

Bring medicine!! I was like you and thought I wouldn't get sick while abroad... WRONG. You will get sick at some point. I didn't know a single person who didn't get sick while abroad. I personally had to go to the doctor twice during those five months. Don't let this scare you! Make sure to take care of yourself even though that can be hard when all you want to do is travel. I know I didn't put myself first most times which only made my sickness worse. Taking rest days can make you feel guilty for not making the msot of study abroad... but remember you are there for five whole months. Life happens and you won't be missing anything. It feels so much better doing a trip when you don't feel sick! If you do have to go to the doctor, don't be nervous. It was actually pretty easy and affordable. Personally I had help from CIEE which made the process so much easier but don't be afraid to ask for help. Most people speak english and will help you. How it goes is you will meet with a doctor and if they prescribe you medicine you will go to any pharmacy around and pick it up. Which I think their system their is so much easier and effective!

COST

Save up money!!! You will spend a lot of money abroad and it is an experience you will want to spend all your savings on. If you don't have a ton of money saved thats ok too. Don't let that steer you away from going because you can always travel affordably. For example, staying in hostels, grocery shop instead of go out, and walking instead of ubering are all things you can do to save money. One thing I will recommend is dipping into your savings if there is something you really want to do. Money WILL come back and you may have to work a lot when you come back to make up for it. The experience will stay with you forever and you will not regret it. Also getting a travel credit card was the best thing I could've done!! If you are able to get one do it. Most places do not take discover or other credit cards so travel ones are so important.

This tip is something I am surprised isn't said more often. Before you go abroad get euros or whatever currency you need from your bank! There are ATM's around Europe but scamming is so common there that it is not worth it in my opinion. I ordered about $500 in euros and used all of it. Some places in Europe only take cash and it is so nice to have. For example, in Berlin Germany, if you buy something under $10 you have to pay in cash.

BECOMING THE ULTIMATE TRAVELER

Now that you have read all of the points, you can become the ultimate traveler! I have a ton more tips and tricks on my page so make sure to go check it out!

Thanks so much for reading!

xx - book0fpaige