Home » Study Abroad Stories » UK/Ireland
Category Archives: UK/Ireland
4 Ways to Help You Get Started Studying Abroad
Guest Blogger: Alicia Daniels, Program Assistant at the Illinois Study Abroad Office
Here at the Illinois Study Abroad Office we get an array of questions ranging from “what schools are most similar to the University of Illinois” to “what city has the best student life?” However, one of our most frequent inquires is the age old question “how do I even get started trying to study abroad!?” Well you are in luck, from the comfort of your own couch I will tell you four ways that helped me plan my international abroad experience!
- Decide what you want out of your academic experience.
Studying abroad is a once in a lifetime experience. You meet people from around the world, visit breathtaking monuments, and (depending on your location) can travel to other countries as well. However, we must remember the study in study abroad. You don’t want to end up at an institution you don’t like for 4-6 months just because it is in Italy! Figure out how studying abroad fits in with your academic goals. Ask yourself, do you want to take general education classes or fulfill major requirements? Does your college restrict you from taking certain classes away from campus? Thinking about your academic future can definitely help you narrow down your choices for which program you would like to apply to.
- Speak to your advisor.
Your home university advisor is not around to just send you pesky e-mails about class registration! Use their guidance to help you decide which classes you can take abroad and how this will affect you once you return from overseas. Here at the University of Illinois we have a specific set of advisors in each department that specialize in helping students choose classes that will keep their academic career going. Click here to see this great resource and contact your Study Abroad 299 advisor today!
- Where do you want to live?
The study abroad experience allows students to enjoy a variety of locations in over 60 different countries. So many options can provide a variety of living experiences. Think of what type of environment you want to live in abroad. Do you prefer something similar to your home university? Would you like to be in a small rural city or large city? How comfortable you are with figuring out public transportation? Would a host family or dorm life be a better fit for what you want out of your study abroad program? Questions like these helped me choose my perfect host university!
- Visit your Study Abroad Office!
It is true that the study abroad experience is a lot of independent research and decision making; however, your Study Abroad Office is always here to help you! One of the best ways to get started is visiting your local SAO advisors and staff. Sometimes talking to someone is the best way to figure out what you really want in regards to leaving the country. Program Assistants at the Illinois Study Abroad Office are students just like you who needed guidance on how to study abroad and now we look forward to helping you out in the same way! Please come visit to talk about your study abroad experience today!
Living Abroad: From Homesick to Finding a New Home
Guest Blogger: Amanda Toledo, Peer Advisor
My first two days in Leeds, England were spent on campus, busily running around getting my student ID, taking campus tours, finding my way home from Morrison’s (the grocery store) and having my first pint at The Old Bar in the Union. My evenings were spent in my quiet, distanced, cold dorm where, for those first two nights, my broken window let in winds that went through it like a sieve and made a noise equivalent to that of a shrieking tea kettle. Overwhelmed with the shock of a new culture and an overload of information, I didn’t have a familiar, comfortable place to process it all; I was homesick.
I video chatted with my aunt each night, sobbing about my misery and ordering her not to tell my parents I was having a tough time. After emailing a friend back home, I got the best piece of advice in that moment of homesick-crisis: plan things. Plan three things to do in the next two weeks: buy a bus ticket for a day trip, go to a club meeting, plan a night out to dinner with other international students, whatever it took to get out of my room and into the thriving city. By the end of the first week I had found friends, a cupcake shop, and classes I enjoyed. I still called my family members at night, but now it was to gush about the incredible British experiences and the amazing British toothpaste I’d bought (in my phase of awe, regular objects became endowed with a magical, charming, English quality).
A month later as my friend and I were leaving Se7en, my favorite local Panini place, a man stopped me on the street. His eyes were wide in a mild panic and he asked me if I could give him directions to a store in the city centre. Without thinking I gave him precise directions on how to get from where we stood to the store he sought, telling him it’d be about a ten-minute walk. After he thanked me and walked away, the significance of the moment struck me. I turned to my friend (another international student) and said, “I knew how to give him directions! I’m like a local!” It was in that moment I realised I had found my place in Leeds; the city had not just been an adventure but had become my home.