Studying Abroad
Studying abroad has been a dream of mine since...forever. I remember watching movies and t.v. shows about young students traveling and making new friends and wanting to experience the same things because it looked fun. I have always been a shy person, so I now see traveling abroad as a challenge. It would be a way for me to get out of my shell and work on my social skills. It would be my own version of “Eat, Pray, Love” (An excellent story about self-discovery while traveling, although I have to shamefully admit I have not read the book and only saw the movie).
Leaving the country has come up many times in conversations with my friends, but always in a lighthearted manner. Not because I don’t want to travel, but because I have never taken the time to look up the process of studying abroad. After a visit during class from an advisor working in the exchange office, I now know studying abroad is not a possibility for me next year for two simple reasons:
1. The process leading up to leaving the country is actually very long and a year’s worth of preparations is needed. A lot of documents need to be filled and signed by numerous people. Therefore, the deadline to sign up for next year’s trip has already passed.
2. It is also very expensive. The advisor mentioned some scholarships given to exchange students, but it is never a certainty. One has to pay the flight and the cost of living while staying in a foreign country. I would need to save up a year’s worth of work to be able to afford such a trip.
While studying abroad sounds like a scary experience, it can also be very rewarding. One can learn a lot about a culture after being immersed in it for a whole semester. It is also a great way to discover new works of literature written by foreign authors. Diversity has been a hot topic over the last few years and traveling is one of the best way to broaden one’s view of the world along with books. My dream of studying abroad is put on hold for now, but I will continue to strive towards that goal. In the meantime, I travel through books and their stories.