38 days, 10 cities, 4 countries, 2 continents, and 1 trip of a life time, this is the opportunity the University of Louisville College of Business gave me. And now I am going to give back by giving my advice to the future students who wish to study abroad.
Before you go abroad you have to make sure you are able to go abroad. By this I mean fill out all the forms, send out all your emails, pay all the fees, get all the immunizations, and ask all those questions that keep popping up in your head. I think the worst part for me was the anticipation leading up to my departure date. Yes, this means after you completed all those annoying requirements you still have to wait for the date printed on that costly plane ticket. But, you can use this to your advantage. Take the time to brush up or learn the native language of the country or countries you will be living in or visiting. And, if you are feeling brave you could even start packing or at least making of list of everything you plan to pack, that way when the time finally arrives you do will not forget anything you meant to bring. Also, this is the 21st century, you are going to want to take pictures and virtually communicate with your new family and friends so make sure you have memory on your phone/ camera. And personally, I would recommend that you have some kind of international plan (I saw students who were solely relying on WIFI and it looked frustrating). And speaking of new friends and family know that they exist. You will make friends. There will be other students going through exactly what you are going through. If you are having a hard time or just need someone lean on them because more likely than not, they need someone to lean on too. And you will have a family, it may be very non-traditional, but you will have one. Families abroad can consist of an assortment of people; they could consist of program leaders, professors, classmates, roommates, waiters, members of a homestay family, you name it. If they live in your new home away from home they could be a part of your new family. And before you go make sure you have a way to remain in contact with your new friends and family; friend them on Facebook, follow them on Instagram, send them pictures via Snapchat, or tweet them on Twitter. You can use whichever social media platform or platforms you like best, but definitely use them. And last but not least, know that “over there” where ever that may be is not so different than “over here”. You will live, you will make friends, you will go shopping, you will go out to eat, you will go out for drinks, you will get into a routine, and you will never truly be alone.
I wish you good luck on your future endeavors and remember the world is too big to stay in one place.