Tiffanie
How did studying abroad change your perspective?
Going to college, there is an option of going to another country and studying abroad. I want to ask anyone who has gone abroad how their life has changed and how it has impacted the steps you took in the future. #career #money #future
2 answers
Joel Volkert
Joel’s Answer
I studied abroad in Madrid my junior year and it was truly a life-changing experience. I would group my experiences in to 3 categories:
1) Culture - Spain is a westernized country, but it is still very different than the US in many respects. Depending on where you study abroad, you will undoubtedly experience different food, customs, styles of living, and possibly even religions, languages, architecture, climates, etc. You will soak in all of these things and appreciate different cultures (including American) even more when you return. Also, depending if you are going somewhere for language, this gives you the perfect opportunity to be immersed in that language and you may even need to rely on it 100% if you are in a place where few or no one speaks English. I was amazed how quickly I improved Spanish and, when I returned, it made my Spanish classes much easier :) (PS the food in Spain is unreal)
2) People - no matter where you go, you will meet tons of new people from all over the world. Many of them will be fellow students studying abroad (it's called Erasmus in Europe), many will be business people, locals and of course travelers. I encourage you to talk to them, learn about other perspectives and cultures, and make lasting friendships. Plus, with technology, it is infinitely easier to stay in touch with those you meet abroad.
3) (Life) maturing - not sure if this is an actual word, but it is now! What I mean by this, is that you will gain a lot of experiences, you will be living on your own and will mature as both a student and a person. Studying abroad takes a lot of courage and can honestly be a bit dangerous (depending where you go and what you do), and it takes a strong person to be able to do that and enjoy it. It will also help you narrow down what direction you want to go in school and in your career. I never thought about being a teacher until after I studied abroad and realized how much I enjoyed meeting others and having discussions about language and English (I teach ESL). You may find yourself in a similar experience or discovering something you never knew you enjoyed.
As you can tell, I'm a huge advocate of studying abroad and would do it as a full-time career if someone paid me to. Ultimately, the choice is yours, but I strongly encourage you to look at all the benefits of studying abroad and growing as an individual.
Good luck!
Julien Schleret
Julien’s Answer
Hi Tiffanie,
Studying abroad is an amazing opportunity that anyone should seize in my opinion. I'm French and I studied in Canada and did 2 internships abroad (Spain and UK) and it really had a big impact on me
- It allowed me to discover another education system (Canada and France are very different) and see different teachers, meet different type of students with different backgrounds
- It allowed me to make HUGE progress in English and Spanish, two languages I had learned at school but there is nothing better than going to a country and speak to locals to improve your language skills
- It allowed me to get out of my comfort zone, it's hard to be far from home and to have to deal with different cultures
- It allowed me to make friends around the world, biggest benefit: whenever I travel to a country where I know someone, I don't have to book any hotels ;)
To summarize, traveling will be amazing for your personal development: you will meet new people, speak different languages, discover new cultures and it will bring you perspective. Go explore the world if you can, there is so much to see!
Here are a couple of articles you might enjoy reading as well:
4 Awesome Ways Studying Abroad Changes a Person
9 Ways Studying Abroad Changes Your Life For The Better
Hope that helps!
Julien