I would like to think that two semesters abroad, on two different trips makes me a complete expert on all things study away. Like, don’t mean to toot my own horn here, but I am the study away guru. And from my travels, besides for the culture and the history and the languages, I have learned quite a few more applicable things. As a constant advocate for the learning-in-different-places type of education, I would like to take some time, to thank my study away experience for teaching me these 8 useful skills.
- How to Pack Lightly (being flexible). I don’t know if it was the moving of hotels every few days in the spring, or if it was the self-travel-will-not-pay-for-a-checked-bag of this fall, but in this past year I have for sure learned how to wear the same pants for 3 days in a row. I have learned that outfit repeating is cool as long as you switch scarfs. And that if you’re travelling with companions that care about this, you need to find new ones.
- How to Pack Completely (being prepared). So the reason you are only carrying 2 shirts and some underwear with you, is not because you brought unrealistically small bags, it is because as a traveler you know that there are some things you will never want to forget. Always have, an umbrella, a book, an I.D., hand sanitizer, tissues, a pen, a hat (October – March only), advil, and a water bottle. No exceptions. Always have these on you. Even if you don’t use them everyday, you will be seriously upset when you realize you forgot them.
- How to Sleep on Public Transportation (time management). Study abroad, in the very least, means you will not be driving a car. No one is about to rent you a car, you are not about to want to rent a car, instead you will need to sit in buses, trams, trains, planes. And this will take longer than driving, seriously cutting into your sleep time. Learning how to sleep on public transportation is a gift, and as of this semester, learning how to sleep on short trips, while still listening for the stops, has been a lifesaver. Hello 35 extra minutes of sleep in the morning!
- How to Study on Public Transportation (working hard). Remember when I said you always need a book with you, always. It is not a leisurely-read book, it is not an I-like-to-sit-around-in-cool-cities-and-read-instead-of-see-the-attractions (which I am sure is fun) book. It’s a, you-still-have-to-pass-your-classes-even-though-you-are-in-this-wicked-cool-city book. So learning how to take every spare minute of time and turn it into something productive, is extremely useful. More time for sightseeing, travelling, eating. And also when you inevitably will be eating alone, because that happens in foreign cities, you aren’t so lonely with a book.
- How to Stay Close to Loved Ones Back Home (communication). Facebook, skype, whatsapp, messenger, email, instagram. It is easy to stay close, but you actually have to utilize them. Also I like to send postcards but FYI, don’t listen to the men selling stamps on the street about how much those stamps cost. They can lie to you. It’s weird, but they can.
- How to Say Student Discount in All the Languages (resourcefulness). Everything has student discounts, but most of the time you need to ask. I recommend having your ID ready.
- How to Get Along with a Group of People for Extended Periods of Time When you Can’t Ever Leave Them (compassion, understanding, patience). This is an extremely valuable skill to have when you travel with a group of students. You didn’t pick who you would travel with, but you still have to do it. You need to learn how to say when someone does something that unbearably upsets you, and you need to compromise your own happiness for the group sometimes. You will be tired, you will be confused, you will be stressed, and you might also be smelly, (from the inability to wash clothes while living out of a suitcase) and all of this will make you irritable, but you have got to learn to roll with the punches.
- How to YOSAO (YOLO, Carpe Diem, etc). Also known as, You Only Study Away Once. This phrase is obviously not always true, but it is more of a motto. Adults keep saying to me: “You will never have a chance like this again”, “You don’t realize how lucky you are to have this experience”, “Take advantage of every opportunity”, “Don’t forget to take pictures”. What they are trying to say is: embrace the YOSAO. So maybe you will only study abroad once, or maybe you will do it twice, or three times, but either way, you are abroad now. Now is the time to get a double scoop of gelato, because gelato tastes better in Italy, now is the time to splurge on that museum, now is the time to drink 3 cups of coffee a day so you can try out three different cafe’s a day. So perhaps the end of it I won’t have a savings account, and perhaps it isn’t healthy to eat kaffee and kuchen every day, and perhaps they also sell Haribo in America, but in the end, the extra dip into the savings account and the extra pounds, will all be worth it for the mountains of culture and maturity I gain from being abroad and saying yes to every opportunity, there will be no regrets, or at least hopefully, I will let you know later.
