Things I May Have Learned Studying Abroad Pt. 2

By Daniel Stankus on April 29, 2014

I began a list of things that are of potential usefulness for those planning on studying abroad, but I feel there is more to be said in order to properly prepare the standard University of Illinois student. I am certainly a standard student, mind you, and living abroad is certainly not a standard experience.

8. Do at least one trip alone

Based off of my group of fellow Illini and Americans, students tend to leave their host country about every other weekend. People feel comfortable and usually prefer going with at least someone else or meeting a friend at their destination, understandably so. But I just returned from a solo trip to Thessaloniki, Greece, and talked to another who went to Ireland by herself, and we chatted about how great it was: you answer to no one, you get to do exactly what you want and it’s the ultimate way to break a comfort zone that already began to crack when you left Champaign, Illinois.

9. Don’t be scared of “danger”

The world is a pretty safe place, actually, and most places you travel to will be free of the multitudes of Crime Alerts that we receive at UIUC. Europe doesn’t have problems with guns or gangs and the worst that could happen is that your phone gets swiped if you’re waving it around in high-theft areas. At Illinois, we run a risk of getting mugged for their potential gain of the $5.00-$10.00 in your wallet.

10. People are way friendlier towards Americans than you’d expect

As long as you don’t obnoxiously take over a bar, talk ridiculously loud or break things, people are really helpful and willing to give you a hand. Most people don’t really care about America, just like Americans don’t really care about what’s happening in random European countries. People tend to get really excited about helping you out. More than once, I’ve asked how to get somewhere and received responses along the lines of, ”Okay you got this. Go here, turn there and you’re home,” or “Oh man, you’re going the wrong way. I’ll walk you to the bus stop and make sure you’re set from there.” Sometimes people overhear your conversation and butt in, “What they’re trying to say is do this, actually,” or “No, no, no, take this street, it’s much faster.” I’ve had three randos looking at my map once when none of them knew exactly where I was trying to get.

11. Branch out

The people I’ve met in my hostels have been some of the coolest cats I’ve met in a while. Don’t sit in your room; go hang out in the lobby and ask what people are up to later. Many do travel alone and are looking for people to talk to and go sightseeing with. You’ve got tons to talk about with your fellow travelers anyway.

Two friends I made at my hostel and myself, on Mt. Olympus

12. Do that minimal amount of schoolwork you have

As I’ve said, most people take it pretty easy when studying abroad. There’s a reason I haven’t met a single engineering student abroad yet. When you have free time, just finish that one-page response you have or that 1-2 hour reading. Things arise out of nowhere, and you don’t want to be caught doing a last minute assignment when everyone else is having fun. It’s happened and it sucks. It’s even worse to feel like you’re missing out when you’ve had plenty of time to complete a relatively easy task.

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