So, studying abroad. I don't even know how to talk about this life event in a concise manner, but since I'm trying to keep up with a "travel blog", which can hopefully help and inspire others to go abroad, I figured that this is one of the most important posts to make. My sophomore year of university, I had the opportunity to live in Stockholm, Sweden for six months. Needless to say, it was a life-changing, eye-opening, and infinitely incredible time in my life.
I couldn't have had a more perfect experience. I lived the life of a Stockholmer in the Swedish fall and winter of 2012. I completely found a home in both the city and the other students I met while living there. (I still talk with several of them every day, a year and a half later, and consider them some of my best friends.) The kinds of relationships you build while studying abroad are some of the most genuine connections I have ever made with people. Everyone is living in this sort of "euphoric" state of mind and since everyone knows it will end, each day counts. Every day becomes its own adventure. One week in "study-abroad time" feels like months worth of growth at home. I remember thinking "I wonder what life is like now at home? What the town looks like, what the people wear, what they are listening to in clubs..." And the truth was, nothing had changed back home at all. It was me who had changed.
I could talk about how much the experience of studying abroad helped me grow into a new person, helped me find myself, taught me about life and the world and true happiness.....forever. So, I'm just going to get to the point. As an officer of the Study Abroad Student Association at my university, there are some common questions I get asked about my experience that I will try to cover in this post.
1. DECIDING WHERE TO GO
For me, this was an easy decision. I have a Swedish friend, Joakim, who I had met a couple of years before on the nerdy music website, Lastfm. And after being friends for two years, he had me convinced that Stockholm would be a place where I would feel right at home. With a happenin music scene, a general widespread appreciation for art and film, an interest in fashion, health, the environment, and the overall introverted tendencies of the Swedes, I felt I could find a place for myself there. And indeed I did. I felt so at home in Stockholm that I am convinced I belong there. I can't fathom going back for a short visit, because it is too painful to leave. The next time I go to Stockholm, it must be for good. Which I am sure will happen someday.
So for a lot of people, I know that this decision is a task because not everyone has the draw of a local friend weighing in on the big decision. Some things I would recommend to consider when deciding where to go are:
THE LOCATION AND CLIMATE - I was in Sweden throughout a rainy fall and a tundra-esque winter and I wouldn't change a single thing, but I can understand that for some people, that may not be their ideal climate. (But in all honesty, with the windchill, it is colder at home in Missouri than it was in Sweden, so for me the snow was not a problem, but rather a bonus.)
THE PROXIMITY TO OTHER PLACES YOU MAY WANT TO VISIT - When it comes to study abroad, obviously Europe is not the only option. Europe was ideal for me because it was easy to travel to several other European destinations. In my six months of studying abroad, I also visited The Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Finland, Latvia, and Estonia. But right now, I have two great friends, McKinsey and Caroline, who are studying in Thailand who are doing a lot more trips within Thailand, whereas I didn't travel within Sweden once. So really, it depends what you want out of it.
THE LIKELIHOOD (OR RARITY) OF LIVING IN THAT COUNTRY AGAIN - This is a factor that I didn't really consider in my decision. However, for one of my best friends, Andrea, this was her deciding factor in choosing to studying abroad in Accra, Ghana. Her thought was: "When will I ever get the chance to live in Ghana again? I can always go to Europe." And I think that is an interesting perspective to consider.
THE COST OF LIVING - Well, this also is a factor I clearly didn't consider when I decided where to study, otherwise I NEVER would have made it to Sweden. FYI: Sweden is very expensive. For Swedes, it's perfect. They get paid more, they have more to spend. For an American living in Sweden, ehhhh, the expenses were not so perfect. (One beer at a club usually ran about $10-12, not to mention entrance to the club itself which was around $20~) Food was also expensive. I only ate out at a restaurant once in the whole six months. It's manageable of course, but let's just say that I could have gotten by spending a lot less in a different country. So, definitely keep cost in mind when deciding a location.
THE CUSTOMS, CULTURE, AND INTERESTS OF THE LOCALS AND IF THAT IS AN ENVIRONMENT YOU WOULD FEEL COMFORTABLE IN - This needs no explanation. Quite simple. (If you don't like partying or loud people in public, maybe Spain isn't the place for you.)
2. THE COST
The typical conversation I have about studying abroad usually ends with the other person saying how they would love to study abroad, but they don't have the money for it. Okay, well, actually it was the same price for me to go abroad for a semester as it would have been for me to stay at my university. So, in actuality, this is one of the lamest of lame excuses not to go. I went abroad with a program called ISEP. This program allowed me to pay tuition and room and board at my university while attending school abroad. I also got a $1000 food stipend, which helped cover the majority of my total expenses in Sweden. This program also supplied me with pre-paid accommodation in Stockholm (I lived in Björnkulla, a student residence offered by my university in Stockholm, Södertörn Högskola.) This meant that whenever I arrived, I had a place to live and it was paid for for the entire semester. Which also meant no running to the city center before the bank closed to pay rent every month, like many of my friends had to. So that was a bonus.
Aside from housing, food, the flights and visa expenses, the rest of the costs vary from person to person. In my experience, I spent a lot of money on clothes, shoes, trips to other countries, and alcohol. But of course those things aren't important for everyone. In short, you can spend what you want to spend.
The important thing to take out of this subject is: do not let the cost deter you from this experience.
3. STUDENT VISAS
To live in The Schengen Zone (most of Europe) for more than 90 days, you are required to have a visa. In the case of study abroad, you must obtain a student visa. I don't have much to say about this, just that it is a HUGE annoyance. It took me three tries before I sent in all the information I needed and it took more than two months to process--I only got my visa papers a few days before I was scheduled to leave the US and that was after several flustered phone calls to the Swedish/American Embassy, so that was terrifying. The visa experience is one that every experienced traveler knows all too well, and it is an awful one. Seriously. Start on it as soon as you book your flight. It takes a lot of time to process and it is easy to make mistakes (like I said, I sent it in three separate times because I was being careless.) Best of luck with that one. Just remember that the headache for traveling is always worth it.
4. KEEPING IN CONTACT WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS AT HOME
I understand that is a priority for a lot of people. In my experiences abroad, I haven't necessarily treated it as one. In my six months of living in Sweden, I bought cell phone minutes for what totaled to be maybe two months. aka, I never bought cell phone minutes. In my three months of living in Spain, I didn't buy cell phone minutes once, so I never had a phone. I used wifi connection when it was available and talked to my family and friends over whatsapp, facebook, email, and a rare skype date. I would say it is important to keep your parents updated regularly--maybe a couple of emails a week--but otherwise, I wouldn't treat this as a main priority. Trust me. You are the one who is having this great experience, not them. At home, their life is still the same. I'm not saying to make your time abroad about losing contact with your family, but don't make it about constantly being connected, either. Seriously, in a few months you'll be back home, and your friends will still be sitting on the same couch drinking the same beer watching the same youtube videos talking about the same things and you will have had all these incredible adventures in the time that they've spent living the same life. When I got home, I asked one of my close friends, "what did I miss?" and she thought for a second before she replied, "nothing." Life at home doesn't change, I promise. So disconnect for a bit. But send your parents emails occasionally so they don't freak out.
Short answer: whatsapp, facebook, email, skype, and viber
5. MISSING THINGS
You won't. You won't miss things. Not things that matter. I mean, sure, I missed peanut butter and Boulevard beer, but you always know that in a couple of months, you can have those things again. The real part of studying abroad where you miss things is not knowing if you'll ever see your friends you've made again, or ever go to that club again, or ever drink that cheap, boxed, 47 krona wine again, or ever take the metro again and get off at your usual stop. THOSE are the things you will miss so much more than anything back at home, which will be readily available to you as soon as you return. And you'll think about missing those things, even when you are still in your country. And that will hurt. A lot. And it will continue to hurt a long time after you've returned home. So, what I'm saying is, don't spend your time missing peanut butter, but when you see it in a store, BUY IT AND BE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT, BECAUSE IT'S PEANUT BUTTER IN SWEDEN!
6. THE LANGUAGE
Luckily in Sweden, everyone speaks English. During my time in Stockholm, I only encountered two people who couldn't respond to me when I had asked a question. Otherwise, I never had any problems with communicating. (And, the more time you spend abroad, the more you realize there is much more to communicating than words. Hand motions are your best friend.) And honestly, pretty much anywhere in the world that you could choose to go, people will speak English. It is the world's language, and you are lucky to speak it fluently. That said, I think that it is important to make an effort to speak the native language of your country. They appreciate it so much. Learn basic words just to get by on a daily basis: hello (hej), goodbye (hej då), thank you (tack), and excuse me (ursäkta mig) are a solid start. And, in actuality, I barely learned any Swedish at all because anytime I even thought about attempting to speak Swedish with a cashier or someone, they automatically spoke to me in English. Swedes were more than willing to speak English with me and are very proud of their language skills. (Swedes are among the best speakers of English as a second language, next to the Dutch, Danish, Finnish, and Norwegian.) So, if you are traveling in any of those countries, you should have NO problem communicating. Otherwise, maybe it is a good idea to brush up on a bit of the local language, not to mention it is courteous. But keep in mind that, in general, most people under 40 probably understand and can speak at least a bit of English, so be aware that when you ARE traveling abroad and you're speaking in a public area, EVERYONE CAN UNDERSTAND YOU. English is not the language for speaking in when telling secrets or talking bad about the person next to you.
7. COMING BACK HOME
Annnnnd, the only bad thing about studying abroad. This is something I cannot explain how to deal with, because frankly, I am still struggling with it. I miss Stockholm and my friends and our experiences more than anything. I think about it everyday. So, in short, it is so hard to return home after having such an experience. People won't listen, or care, and definitely won't understand what you've lived through, so I suppose that is the hardest part. But despite how much it sucks to come home, what you gained is so worth it. When I figure out how to get over the "post-study abroad depression stage," I'll update this post.
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