As the semester is winding down and
students are preparing for final exams and projects and presentations, there
are select few that have even more stress in their lives. Next semester, several students will be
embarking on adventures that will test them and allow them to grow as
individuals. The locations for
study abroad next semester are Australia, Germany, Italy, London, New Zealand,
Spain, France, China and Greece. I
asked a few of them what they are most excited for, and what their biggest
fears are for their upcoming journey.
Amelia Capuano ’14, is afraid of
getting fat on Italian food, getting homesick, and getting lost. She is looking forward to the food, the
culture, the people, and in being a completely different place. “Everything is new!”
Sophomore
Matt Myers is most excited about meeting the new students when he studies in
London, and interacting with the people of England. “I am a huge history buff and really like World War II. I want to go over and see where some of
the most famous battles were fought.”
He is also looking forward to meeting some pen pals that he has gotten
to know over the years. The thing
he is most afraid of is the unknown.
“I know what to expect, but I don’t know if that is how it will
go.”
Jillian
Jacobs is a junior who is also studying abroad in London next semester. She is most excited to see famous
places like the London Eye and Big Ben.
“I’ve wanted to travel to London since I was a little kid and now that’s
becoming a reality!” She can’t
wait to travel the Europe mainland and make friends and connections that may
help her out in the business world.
One of her fears is that she will not want to return to the United
States after studying abroad.
“I’ve wanted to live in Europe my whole life.” Another fear is losing her luggage or getting lost in the
city. “Overall, I think my
excitement outweighs the fears that I may have. I’m ready for an adventure!”
Katie
Ulrich, also a junior, is heading to Spain in the fall of 2013. She is most excited for is learning
about the Spanish culture, architecture, and everything she has learned about
in her classes. She is also
looking forward to traveling all around Europe. One of her fears is living with a host family. Not all study abroad students will have
this experience, but the ones going to Spain will. Katie is hoping that she will be able to communicate with
her host family and that she will able to have enough independence to travel
around on her own.
Emily
Robenolt ’15 is also studying abroad in Spain. She is also most excited about being in a new culture and
experiencing new things. “This
experience, being able to study abroad and travel, will open my eyes to things
I never would experience here and it will help me understand differences
amongst individuals.” He biggest
fear is being away from home and missing the important moments with the people
she cares about. “I have always
been very close to my family and knowing they will be an ocean away is kind of
scary.”
In
my infinite wisdom of studying abroad, I wanted to give some tips to address
some of these students’ concerns.
I knew how helpful it was for me to hear from students who had traveled
to London the year before I did, and I wanted to offer them some advice as
well.
Don’t
worry about being homesick. It
will most likely happen to you, but as long as you keep yourself busy exploring
the country you won’t even think about it. It also really helps to keep in contact with your friends
and family back home, especially with Skype, because then you can actually
speak to them face to face.
Take lots of pictures! Of everything! You can delete them later if you have
to. Pictures are the things that
people want to see first when they ask you about your trip. And you will want to look at them too,
probably more than anyone else. I
still look through all of my pictures nostalgically and I think I will still
want to look at them when I am eighty years old. They are that important to me.
Even though I did not keep a
budget, I would advise you to keep one if you spend money really easily. It’s hard with the exchange rate
because you are spending more money than it seems, or less money if you are in
some countries. Keep a budget, but
don’t follow it religiously. You
saved money for this trip so you should spend it and splurge some times. Just don’t go crazy or you will
definitely be broke in a month.
I know I’ve said this earlier in
one of my other blog entries, but I really encourage everyone to keep a
journal. I tried to keep a
journal, but I got through half of one and I stopped. I don’t know if it was out of laziness or just because I
didn’t want another added to my list of things to do, but I did not write down
anything that happened to me. It
is one of my biggest regrets that I didn’t keep a journal or blog. You will think that you won’t forget
any of your experiences, but you eventually will. My friends who studied in Greece wrote in their journal
every single day when they were abroad, even the insignificant details of their
day. It seemed kind of unnecessary
to me, but then I came to realize that nothing you experience when you are
abroad is insignificant. Every
moment is a piece of a larger journey that changed your life, and you shouldn’t
forget any of it.
I am green with envy that you are
just starting your journey and that mine is over. I hope your thirst for travel and adventure will never leave
you and that it will only grow with this experience. I know mine did.
Best of luck to all of you!
