Q&A: Your Q's, My A's
Ask me questions you cannot find answers to on my blog! Message me from the contact section! I will respond to your message directly and post your questions and my answers here, so everyone can benefit!
Is your question embarrassing? Let me know in your message that you would like the question asker to appear in this post as anonymous!
If I do not have your answers, chances are I can contact a friend! I would be glad to do some research and/or put you in contact with a knowledgeable source.
Do not be shy, and ask away! No question is too stupid or too invasive. Happy writing, cannot wait to hear from you!
Q: Why should I study abroad?
A: Here is a list of seven reasons I believe you should study abroad.
1. Studying abroad is an amazing opportunity to learn outside of the classroom. You learn about culture and history in a way you would not from America in a classroom by seeing and doing. You get to participate in the culture, food, fashion, events, customs and more of a specific country or location you are studying, and be ingrained into it all as opposed to a typical classroom style approach. You can also purchase items and take photos in those locations. My study abroad experience was applicable to my recent Spanish 231 presentation. I shared my experiences in Barcelona through pictures I took myself, and wore a Barcelona soccer shirt and brought in postcards from Park Güell to compliment my presentation. I have also created this blog due to my experience abroad.
2. You have the opportunity to make foreign friends and professional connections. Making a friend abroad not only gives you a great reason and means to come back and visit, but you learn cultural and social aspects of another culture through human interaction. This could help you get a job later on, or create a meaningful friendship cultivating your understanding of another culture. Professional connections through foreign internships foster unique employment opportunity and experience, and you get to learn about differences in work environment in different countries. Having a foreign internship or foreign professional skills is also an awesome resume builder. Employers will love to ask you about your internship experience abroad.
3. Study abroad lets you better understand and encounter cultural differences. It makes you think more broadly about everything from government, to public transport, to country traditions, to cultural standards. Being abroad allows you to become more understanding of people different than you and open to other culture’s customs and beliefs. As an American you are the minority, and that shift in perspective can promote growth in your empathy for minority groups in America.
4. Studying abroad creates close friendships with peers in your school program, potential foreign classmates or those you live with. Many abroad programs group together foreign students which gives you an unique opportunity to meet another foreign peers, who are also not from the country you are currently studying in. You can meet other Americans abroad you can maintain relationships with at home, as have new places to visit in traveling to the home countries of foreign friends. If you choose a major program from your university, you make a whole host of connections in your field for when you graduate, and people you can go to for challenging classes or major related difficulties.
5. Also, close relationships with professors cultivated abroad provide unique, professional and personal connections. Professors from abroad can write you letters of recommendation. If your professor was American traveling with your specific program, you now have a wonderful resource back at school in America to give you good information or provide unique and personal opportunities. You can cultivate lasting relationships both professional and personal for years to come. The Faculty Member In Residence during my London experience teaches in Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication which is my minor. When I returned from London, I took Cathryn’s WRTC course. This was both a requirement for my minor, and welcome opportunity to hang out with Cathryn several times a week in class and during office hours. I am also going to be reviewing the WRTC journal Lexia she will head in the fall, which was an awesome opportunity presented from having a close connection because I went abroad.
6. A semester abroad is an amazing artistic or creative opportunity. If you love to write, photograph, draw etc., you can partake in those outlets during your travel experiences, and even afterward. Study abroad is an exciting platform you can use to showcase your unique abilities. I made this blog due to my study abroad experiences.
7. Study abroad is also an amazing opportunity to travel before you become an adult with responsibilities and finances to keep you in one place. This may include but is not limited to children, a stable job, a significant other, a pet or etc. Traveling is fun and great for personal growth and new experiences, so what better a time than college to revel in the world’s wonders.
Question Submitted By: Teddi Lemberos
Q: Can you tell me a little about how you balance your class work and classes with having time to explore and go on adventures?
A: This questions depends on your country and program structure. My program had structured adventures; you could choose to intern, class outings, and we all went on five trips. These trips were required in the program, allowing for adventures with a built-in friend group, with safety and preparation through the unknown of foreign countries. My program did not give us tons of typical written school work, because learning abroad can really be about engaging with the culture. But, every so often you must give up a social event or exploration opportunity to work on a paper or substantial assignment. For my class British Media and Society, we learned about basic aspects of British culture, and went out to experience that culture in personal guided tours by our teacher and his friends in the industry. I would recommend classes that travel, or tours groups and guides led by a country or city’s natives. It is impossible to do and understand every important cultural experience by using Google, and natives know the most as well as current and social norms.
It is the very best idea to plan before travel. Map out what exists in each location to plan specifically, or have a better idea of major attractions before travel. It would be a good idea to do this planning from your home country before leaving to maximize your time abroad. But, there is a lot of information you may gain along the way, so do not feel like you cannot add to pre-made plans.
This question also depends on the country in which you are studying. You might be in a metropolitan location like London, where there is an endless amount to do and the city is extremely large. So, extensive planning is necessary to fit in as much as possible to get everything you are looking for out of your abroad experience. If you go to an island, desert or rural location, there may be less to do overall. So, you may not have to do as much planning to achieve the full experience. You can be sure to hit all main attractions and experiences just by immersing yourself in the culture.
In terms of normal classwork, it depends on how much you have, your program/figuring out what things you want to do in the country, planning and time management. Try to do work on transportation, use all the free time you have to do work/plan just like normal life. Do a lot of research before you leave America!!! Ask other people who did a similar program/had a similar experience how they did it all, and what they wish they had done differently.
Another way to make sure you get to go on all the adventures you want is to come before or stay after your program ends. This allows you to go places for longer and devote your full attention to travel. I would recommend staying after rather than coming before, because at that point you have done most of what you want to do, but did not have time to fit in a handful of things, and this will let you squeeze in those things so you don’t have to do it at the end when you're worrying about leaving, finals, packing, being sad to leave.
Question Submitted By: Alison Sall
