How Studying Abroad Will Change your Life
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Ever since I was old enough to understand the concept of studying abroad, I had been fantasizing about where I was going to go when it was my turn. I wanted to study in Morocco, Chile and Spain; I even found month long environmental science study abroad trips heading to Antarctica that had me hooked! (unfortunately that one didn’t pan out haha!)
It wasn’t even a question that I would eventually study abroad, and when I decided to major in Spanish, I knew I was going to study in Granada, Spain (to get a little bit of Moroccan culture while still getting to practice my Spanish). In addition, I studied abroad in India during the summer for credits that counted towards my Political Science major.
Lots of people come to me for study abroad advice, but almost all of them are terrified of leaving their home school for an entire semester, either because they think it’ll be outrageously expensive, they have fear of missing out, because they’ve never traveled alone before, or even because they think they wouldn’t be able to find a program that lets them take classes that count towards their major! (whether it be biology, pre-med, computer science, etc.).
While some more intensive majors might make it a little trickier to study abroad, there are programs for everyone out there, even if it is just a summer program! While those might be a little easier to stomach (I did a summer program in India and loved it!), I HIGHLY encourage you to go abroad for a semester; Studying abroad will change your life. Here’s how.
You will make forever friends from all over the world
When I walked into the study abroad office at my university, I literally asked them for cities in Spain where no CNU students were going. Typically, a large portion of people at my school went to Seville to study abroad; it was the most popular option. There were also a few students going to Madrid. My sorority big was going to Alicante. I knew that if I knew people going into this experience, that I would probably cling to them and use them as a safety net. I wouldn’t speak as much Spanish, I wouldn’t bond as much with the other people in my program. So I made sure I wasn’t going to know anyone where I was going! It sounds crazy, but it was for the best in the long run.
I met the most incredible people there. I met one of my best friends (Hi Izzy!), Our snapchat groupchat is still popping off two years later. I have friends across the United States, as well as friends in Canada, Australia, and even China. I loved having Spanish as the common language between the Chinese students and I, It allowed us to communicate despite me not knowing Mandarin and they not knowing English; it forced us to practice our Spanish by necessity. The people on my program and I became a family.
Blurry photos of friends >>>>
Speaking of family, If I went with a friend I might have roomed with them in University housing, but instead I stayed with the most incredible host family I could have ever asked for. I had two host siblings who helped me with my Spanish and host parents who helped me track down my new phone that was being held in customs when I was struggling to understand Spanish through the phone (why is it so much harder??). I know that whenever I go back, I will be welcomed with open arms.
2. You will become so confident in your abilities
From arriving at the airport and wandering around, looking for a group of people who might be there for the same reasons you are, to hopping off the bus and having a stranger who doesn’t speak english adopt you into their home, to planning weekend trips where you have to find a ride to an airport two hours away at three in the morning to catch your flight, to booking airbnbs and pulling trigger on all your lofty plans, to stepping out of your comfort zone and striking up a conversation in a language that is not your own, to going to the club on a Wednesday and waking up for your 8 am class that’s an hours walk away, to navigating public transport in new cities…. you will become so independent.
Never did I ever anticipate getting my phone and wallet stolen simultaneously, and having to find my way to the post office with no google maps to pick up the cash that my parents had to wire over from the United states so that I could buy lunch that day. What do you do when you leave your passport on the train in Amsterdam?? Normally I would leave it up to the adults to figure that one out… and then you realize you ARE the adult. And you learn how to be one really quick.
I don’t think I would’ve made the decision to move to South Korea at 21 years old, completely alone and kind of in the middle of the global Pandemic, to teach (something I don’t really know how to do) if I didn’t study abroad and learn to be confident in my ability to do whatever I put my mind to.
During summer programs, there is a lot of hand-holding, a lot of guidance and supervision. When you have a whole 5 months of being your own lifeline in a foreign country, it changes you!
(and not to worry, for those of you who think this sounds like a nightmare: your program directors are here for you no matter what! Marissa (the actual GOAT and program director of ISA Granada) took me to the hospital when I stepped on a sea urchin and translated for me because I didn’t know the word for sea urchin in Spanish (it actually translates to “sea hedgehog” LOL). They planned thanksgiving dinner and bought pumpkins for us to carve for halloween. They gave us tours of different parts of the city on their weekends. You’re not completely alone!)
3. The world becomes your oyster
Okay, the world is already your oyster, its just really hard to access in North America! You will see places you never expected you’d have the privilege of seeing. I studied abroad in New Delhi. India seemed so inaccessible before it became an option that furthered my education. Never did I ever expect to see 9 new countries in a year at age 19. I never thought that studying abroad in Europe would give me the chance to add Africa to the Continent Count (I’m only missing Australia and Antarctica!) and spend a week in the Sahara Desert.
I found the city I want to live in someday, spent Christmas in a winter wonderland, and did a girls trip in one of the most iconic cities in the world. I found a love for traveling that inspires me every day.
Flights to new countries in Europe start at 20 Euros. The trains connect cities throughout the entire continent. classes end on Thursdays, and the weekends, and the world, are yours to spend however you choose.
You might have fomo of all the tailgate posts and sorority event invites from back home, but who’s out there seeing the world and living everyone’s dream? YOU.
4. The things you LEARN
It’s one thing to learn about Hindu oppression towards muslims in India, it’s another to actually observe the elections and see people waving enormous nationalist flags as they ride on the top of trucks while fires burn in the streets. It’s one thing to speak Spanish in front of your class who are all at your level, it’s another thing to try to pick out words from a rapid fire dinner conversation that includes a heavy southern accent — all alone, with no teacher or translator in sight. It’s one thing to read Anne Frank’s diary, and a whole other thing to see the cramped attic in which she wrote her entries.
To travel is to learn, and I truly believe i learned the most during these semesters and summers spent abroad. I learned another language, I learned how to be independent. I learned about different cultures (My stomach GROWLS thinking about how late Spanish dinners are LOL). I learned about human rights violations and saw oppression first-hand. I tried new food, broke out of my comfort zone, and became a citizen of the world. And I only want to learn more.
Studying Abroad will broaden your horizons, give you new perspectives on things you thought were one-sided, and make you more tolerant, understanding, and appreciative of every culture and the things they have to add to this world. It changed the way I think. As long as you are traveling, you will always be learning.
5. You’ll learn to appreciate the time you are given
5 months seems like such a lengthy period of time, but by the last week I had in Granada, I was sobbing every night, desperately wishing I had more time. More time in the city I found myself calling “home”, more time with my friends who had become family, more time learning such a beautiful language, more time to visit all the places I kept pushing off because i thought i had more time. Time FLIES.
So many people push off studying abroad while they are at school, thinking they’ll find the time during their four years to do it… and then in the blink of an eye, those four years are over. So, you need to realize the finite amount of time that you have in school, or even on this earth, and make the leap! The scariest things always result in the biggest reward.
Shortly after coming back home, I got a pomegranate tattooed on my body. Granada is Spanish for Pomegranate, and pomegranates (as well as pomegranate motifs) decorated the streets, man-hole covers, signs, and gardens all throughout the city. I got it as a reminder of all the things mentioned previously in this post. Life is an adventure, and I never want to take it for granted, thinking I have more time than I do. I want to continuously learn, I want to live a life of travel and adventure.
Studying abroad puts your life into perspective, sparks inspiration, and creates a realization that life needs to be lived in the moment, as many things are short lived. Are you ready to change your life?
Tell me about your study abroad experience/where you’re planning to go!
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