How To Have The Best Study Abroad Experience
Everyone wants to have a great study abroad experience and finally, it is time to pack your bags and go! This post will be especially useful to those who come from a more conservative culture or if you do not have friends going with you.
Bear these tips in mind while you study abroad and have a blast! I went through the same thing, and I want to share what was helpful for stepping out of my comfort zone.
1. Be Open
Say yes to invitations, learn about other people and cultures.
These are very easy things to say and advise about. However, it is difficult to overcome shyness and fear of unfamiliarity. It helps to surround yourself with people who YOLO and do whatever they want, and their adventurousness will rub off on you too.
Catalina Island with some friends who live in the same apartment 
We camped at the beach behind
This also means to be open towards other cultures and opinions. I am thankful for my Hungarian roommate who invited me to hang out with other friends. This then opened up the doors to my first camping experience in Catalina Island.
When you are open, you learn to network and find out other people’s interests, which sometimes aligns with yours too. The caveat here is to only do things that fit with your principals. Do not do things you will regret just because of FOMO.
2. Join Student Life
There are many opportunities when you study abroad. If you do sports, join a team in your exchange school. You could also join various other interest groups and volunteer groups. If you are in USA, consider greek life if you like partying with other college students on Friday and Saturday nights.
It also helps to join all sorts of mailing lists and Facebook groups at the start in order to find out what is happening on campus/on the weekends. Attend involvement fairs to learn more about various clubs.
Q: Why should I waste my time with school activities when I could be spending it on traveling?
You can travel when you start working and earning money. However, to understand a culture from a college student’s perspective is a once in a lifetime experience. A local friend will tell you about the best places for pizza, invite you to private events, and tell you which parts of the city to stay away from.
The best part is that you will have good friends in different parts of the world, and you can meet on the Internet too anyway.
3. Have An Objective
Continuing from the previous point, it all depends on what your objective for studying abroad is – here are some examples:
- Experience local college culture
- Hit as many tourist spots as possible
- Go outdoors and see nature
- Party and get the most out of the city
- Challenge yourself/become a more sociable person
- Get an internship there
Personally, I wanted to experience local college culture, go outdoors and challenge myself. There is also a difference between being open to other options, and choosing things that matter more.
For example, my group of friends wanted to spend spring break in the cities along the east coast of USA. However, I wanted to explore California and did so on a 10-day road trip with people I barely knew at the start. In this post I talk about my favorite scenic spots in California.
If you also plan to join school events and commit to weekend activities, you will not have as many free weekends for traveling. You will need to prioritise things based on your objectives.
4. Do The Things You Love
This is the part where you make things happen in order to pursue what you love.
This is also related to the previous point. Personally, I had a difficult time finding people who shared similar interests as me – but I did not want to give up on the dream of an outdoors road trip in California.
Do you want to go camping, have a chill afternoon at the beach, or go to a concert in the next city? Find people who want to go along and make it happen!
Hiking in Malibu instead of going the beach – so what?
Alternatively, join interest groups in school to meet like-minded people and gain inspiration. For example, in University of Southern California (USC) they have several outdoor clubs – Peaks and Professors, and SC Outfitters. I also heard from my friend about gaming clubs, or Astronomy club.
Do not let unfamiliarity be a reason to forgo your passion. If you ask me what studying abroad has taught me independence and proactivity, this was one major lesson. You will learn so much about resourcefulness and how you can make something happen if you want it badly enough.
Read more: 10 Reasons You Should Use Notion for Travel Planning with Friends
5. Reflect Often
Recount thoughts and activities weekly to see how your thoughts and attitudes change.
Personal development happens when you study abroad, alone in a foreign land without the comfort of knowing who you will meet and what you will be doing in the next few days. With the freedom of pursuing individual interests, you also learn a lot about yourself.
It is easy to get caught up in all the activities, and time is going to pass really quickly. It helps to have an avenue to reflect about what happened during the week. Perhaps you have become more outgoing, independent, or discovered new passions.
I used Instagram as my avenue for sharing about my thoughts and what I have done, and to thank the people who have been kind and hospitable to me during the week.
Of course, not everyone is a “reflections” person. All I am saying is that it is helpful to be aware of personal growth, because it adds to the level of fulfilment we can get from a study abroad experience.
In some ways, these are my reflections and writing this has reminded me about what made my study abroad experience extra memorable. A great experience ultimately depends on whether you have an open mind – to accept both the good and bad.
You have grown much and from glory to glory, Ning😘 All I can say is, “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!” (Proverbs 31:29)