About us

Leaving Australia

hanqinfeiLeave a comment

Saying goodbye is not easy, especially to something you like a lot. To me, leaving Australia, leaving the beautiful nature, leaving all my friends… It is quite sad. But all good things come to an end. Sigh.

Anyways, a few leaving tips for ya all Manchester students coming to Australia for exchange.

First of all, cancel you bank account if you are not going back in the near future. I think some Australian banks, including Commonwealth Bank which I’m with, charge you for having a savings account. Therefore, cancelling your account might save you some dollars.

Go to places you want to go and see things you want to see — it might well be some time before you can go back: It is literally at the other end of the world! (to UK) Also, make sure you leave nothing behind. Once you are back in UK, what’s left in Australia probably will have to be there forever.  I believe posting stuff between these two countries are not quite easy: when I first moved into my accommodation, I was informed by reception that I had a postcard in my mailbox. It turned out to be a postcard addressed to the previous occupier of my room, and had been sent from London in June, 2017 :))) It was Feb, 2018 then already. Sooo you know better not to post anything unless necessary.

Finally, meet all your friends you make here and give them hell of a hug! Who knows when you’ll see each other again? I know for sure I’m gonna miss those lovely people!

Student housing – the more the merrier?

georgifogartyLeave a comment

Georgi Fogarty (University of Queensland, Australia)

 

Housing can be one of the biggest worries when moving abroad, especially when you don’t particularly know anyone that’s going out with you. As a bit of a social butterfly, I had my sights set on a living situation that would allow me to meet a lot of people -ideally university halls, or a share house if not. Unfortunately, university halls were extremely far out of my budget which initially worried me as that’s where I’d envisioned myself; halls seem perfect as everybody is in the same boat of not knowing anyone. So in a slightly less than ideal but fairly common situation, I found myself arriving in Australia in July and being welcomed with open arms by a hostel ( admittedly not the homeliest) while I searched for somewhere more permanent. I’ll admit it’s not the best situation to be in when you’re brand new to a country but the time flew by and after a week of manic house viewings, estate agent visits and sending messages on all sorts of housing advertisement sites, I found myself signing a contract into a student share house. It was pretty much exactly what I’d wanted – a house in one of the most sought-after suburbs in Brisbane filled with other brand new international students, all small fish in a big shiny new pond. The catch? The house had the capacity to accommodate 30 people. That’s 30 raucous students under one roof. It definitely set me up for an interesting year.

20914339_10214079765093721_3069159712830675406_n
All of these beautiful people under one roof?

 

 

THE LOGISTICS

  • The old part of the house is an ‘Old Queenslander’ style, the same as most residential houses around the East coast of Australia. This basically means it’s big, airy, wooden and set on stilts for ventilation. It’s then been extended backwards, forwards, sideways, below – most possible directions – to make room for the 29 bedrooms (one is designed for 2 people to share).
  • We have two kitchens (one upstairs, one downstairs), 5 bathrooms, 2 living areas and a very comfortably sized garden with a barbecue: great for if the kitchens get overcrowded at mealtimes.

THE DRAWBACKS

  • Without a doubt, the mess. Imagine this: everybody has a glass of water and completely unintentionally forgets to wash up the glass. That’s immediately 30 dirty glasses covering every surface, table, wall, floor, ceiling – you get the picture.
  • You’re never alone. This can be bittersweet when the time comes that you come home from a long day at uni and just want to make a cup of tea without having to make conversation with 16 different people in the kitchen.
  • There is a definite and prominent lack of resources. At 7pm when 17 people are battling for the dinner rush front line on the ONE oven in the upstairs kitchen, things can get a little hectic. The same happens when 6 people simultaneously run for a shower before uni. Chaos.
24232149_10214468114112707_2755523330203227466_n
Mid attempt to round up the troops in the garden

 

THE POSITIVES

  • First and foremost, the social aspect was amazing. With so many people, there will always be somebody that you get along with, and maybe one or two that you don’t – but honestly that was never an issue. Chances are, in a house full of 19-25 year olds that have all chosen to do a year or semester abroad in Brisbane, you’re going to have a lot in common with most of the people. Although despite the commonalities in mindset, it was such a great way to meet people from different social, educational and cultural backgrounds.
  • You’re never alone. I’m aware that this was also a negative, but for me the benefits of this point drastically outweighed the costs. With 30 restless students it’s extremely rare that nobody will be down for a weekend away, or even just a trip to the supermarket. One quick message in the group chat and within minutes you have a fully-fledged convoy, no matter where you’re off to.
  • Being around international students, everybody is in the same boat of coping with homesickness, university stress and all the drawbacks of a year away from all that you’re used to. This means that there was the most incredible unspoken support network. Everybody just gets it.
  • With 30 people, although house events are a mess to organize (I’d compare it to herding cats) when everybody pulls together it means you can get some seriously great games of rounders underway.
20882594_1645829145459371_2146449863493495047_n
The residents at Byron Bay, NSW.

 

30 people was an incredibly fun yet a little overwhelming experience when you’ve only ever lived in 6 or 8 people flats, but I’d do it again 10 times over. I was so full of apprehension arriving in that hostel alone last July knowing that the easy choice of university halls simply wasn’t an option, but looking back I’m incredibly glad I took the matter of housing into my own hands. Maybe it’s not for everyone, but from now on I’ll always vote for the more the merrier.

 

Go West

ailsajones1Leave a comment

Ailsa Jones ♦  Queen’s University, Canada

If like me you were drawn to Canada through the stereotypical images of mountains, scenic lakes, and the exotic wildlife your best bet to see all three is going West. Having spent a substantial amount of my exchange in Eastern Canada, it made sense to make my way Westwards following the end of the semester to see whether Instagram had been doing it justice.  Continue reading “Go West” →

Tips and reflection now that I’m home

IsaacASULeave a comment

Having now arrived home from studying abroad for the last year at Arizona State University in America, I thought that this would be a good opportunity to reflect on the last 12 months and even give some tips to anyone looking to study abroad in the future.

Snapchat-1657698423

In terms of tips that I could recommend, perhaps one of the most important ones would be to make sure that you sort out your housing out as soon as you know where you are going if possible. I stayed in my first-choice housing on campus and it was really good, and allowed me to get as much as possible from the study abroad experience both academically and personally. Another important tip would be to make friends with locals and fellow international students, having a mix is important as the local students will help immerse you in their culture, while often fellow international students are more inclined to travel in the host country as like you they want to make the most of the experience. I would make sure that you have a Skype account or another way to contact friends and family back home when you are missing them, and finally don’t worry too much about whether you will be able to make friends when you get there. Everyone once they arrive is in the same situation and will be just as eager as you to get to know people as quickly as possible.

Snapchat-1130314158

Looking back over the last 12 months, the first thing that strikes me is how fast the last year has gone. It only feels like yesterday that I was travelling down to Heathrow for my flight, and especially in the final few weeks which feel like a blur as I was juggling packing my room away with my final exams. Despite this however I feel like I have done an incredible amount, and I would recommend studying abroad to anyone as it has been one of the best experiences that I have ever had. Because my flat mates were all American, as well as most of my classmates I had the chance to totally immerse myself in a different culture which was lucky because that was one of the reasons why I chose to study abroad in the first place. One of the real positives of my study abroad experience was the chance to try new subjects which I don’t have access to back at Manchester. One of these was Anthropology, which was a subject which I was always interested in but never had the chance to study until now. This was one of the more unexpected positives of my study abroad experience, however a more predictable one was the fact that studying abroad gave me the chance to travel across America more than I could have even predicted. Studying abroad has allowed me to see new places and ways of life that are so different to back in UK, and it is an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.

Giving Back

IsaacASULeave a comment

One of the classes I have taken during the second semester at ASU is Geography of World Crises. This is taught by Dr. Larson and involves the class as a group discussing different issues that the world face today. These can range from gender inequality to the rise of extremism and the damage we are doing to the environment. Aside from these discussions, we also had to take part in two days of service, where we volunteered either on campus or in the local community to help sustainability projects and those who are less fortunate than ourselves. The two projects I took part in was orange picking for the campus diners and the United Food Bank who provide food for families that cannot afford their own.

20180217_111828.jpg

The orange picking was done on campus. The Tempe campus at ASU grows their own oranges that they then use in their diners to provide students with fresh, healthy orange juice which is made using the best organic ingredients. The picking was actually very simple to do, the main tool was a basket with an extendable handle. As you extended the handle to reach the oranges which were high up in the trees, you used the basket to knock the oranges off the branches which you then caught with the basket and brought them down to place in the bucket we were each given. In total myself and my partner picked oranges from four different orange trees, and we even had a family come up to us to ask us if they could take some oranges themselves, which we of course let them do.

20180407_105350.jpg

The second day of service was larger. The day itself was called ‘Devils in Disguise’ and was a university wide event. This involved multiple projects in the community, the organization I got involved with was the United Food Bank. The day involved meeting on Campus at 7am before getting the shuttle to the Food Bank which was in nearby Mesa. Once we were there we were split into teams to work on different parts of the production line with the aim of getting the donated food from the donation bins into sorted boxes ready to be sent to the people who need them. I was involved in the initial sorting of the food, which meant that I had to check that any items that were out of date, damaged or that didn’t contain their own nutritional labels were thrown away. Once this was done I then had to sort the food into different groups such as meat, fish or soup and then place these boxes onto the conveyor belt for further sorting. In total we managed to sort 10, 000 lbs. of food in the four hours that we were in the warehouse for which was a new record. This made me feel proud of our achievements as a group, and it was good knowing that I had helped to give back to the community that has been so welcoming to me for the year that have been here for.

Coming Home

rosiesjohnsonLeave a comment

I didn’t get the rush of relief that usually comes with the end of exams and deadlines. While I was of course happy to have finished my exams, I knew that it also meant the end of my time in Singapore.

Near to the end of my stay, I started to learn more about Singapore from a citizens point of view, proving the paradise of Singapore to be more complex than just a country full of good natured people. One friend we made was a Singaporean beach club owner who my friend and I would spend time talking to on our Saturday afternoons at the beach. He explained that while he was proud of Singapore’s safety, it came with a multiple of rules and regulations limiting the freedom of the Singaporeans. The housing shortage in Singapore, for example, caused the government to enforce legislation which meant that someone could only buy their own property if they were married. Before I knew this, I always thought it was strange that the majority of the students at NUS lived at home with their parents rather than on the campus, and would be expected to move back in after university until they got married. I presumed this was just the culture. It is commonly assumed that certain rules and laws, for instance the ban on public drinking between 10.30 pm and 7am, are just a result of Singapore being ‘boring’ or trying to uphold high levels of safety. However, people believed that the bill was passed by parliament after the 2 hour long 2013 Little India riot. This involved 300 migrant labourers which broke out because of the death of an Indian migrant worker after a collision with a private bus. Investigations found the migrant worker killed to have been intoxicated while trying to board the private bus. The apparent perfection of Singapore has obviously come at a price.

One of my few regrets about my time abroad is not having applied to spend a year here instead of just a semester. At the time you think that 5 months away from home is going to be more than enough but I have realised that 5 months flashes before your eyes and it was only at the end of this time that I actually started to feel settled and comfortable. It was only in exam season that we started to discover some of my favourite parts of Singapore. Kampong Glam, for example, is beautiful and has a certain atmosphere that I think you would find hard to come across anywhere else, as you walk past the open front shops selling incense and different arabic fabrics and clothing. Despite how much I love Singapore, I think the one thing I am most grateful for are the friends I have met while I have been here. I feel very privileged to have met people all across the world, from places like South Korea to America and Canada to countries all around Europe. As I start to pack up my things I think back to when I first arrived in my room and how nervous I was, especially when I realised there was no wifi and no way of contacting home, freaked out by the lizards and stressed out because of the humidity. 5 months later, I’ve learned to love the lizards and am definitely not looking forward to being cold in England.

IMG_8006-1
Kampong Glam
IMG_7540
Sentosa beach
IMG_8374
Skyline of Singapore

Social Life in Amsterdam

hanhallLeave a comment

Making friends was something I was concerned about in the lead up to study abroad. Having moved to uni what seemed like five seconds ago, I thought I had a secure group of friends who I liked, and would be very hard to replace abroad. Of course, I kept in contact with my friends through social media and visits but turns out making friends in Amsterdam was far easier than I had expected.

One thing I would advise to any student going to Amsterdam would be to join the International Student Network (ISN), and the Buddy Scheme. It’s very much forced fun, but it’s a great way to meet people. Virtually my whole friendship group came through making one friend in my ISN group. So even if the events seem dull I would make the effort to attend, because chances are you’ll meet someone just as engaged as you are.

The ISN have limited places, so I would recommend signing up before you go. They also have a Facebook page. Even if you don’t go to the events I would recommend the FB page as this is where people post about going for drinks, days out etc. Or this turned out to be the case in my cohort.

As you may have gathered the ISN is mainly made up of international students. I went to Amsterdam, as I think many people did, with hopes of making many Dutch friends. This however was not the case. I made about a handful of Dutch friends who I actually met through the ISN and then through friends of friends. Unfortunately, Dutch people react to international students the same way UoM students do. They don’t really put themselves out to engage with students who won’t be around long. I’d suggest if you are set on making cool Dutch friends, then nightclubs and ISN is the best way. Speaking to people in your lessons doesn’t really work. I tried. Honest.

Next week one of my friends from Canada is coming to visit. Next month two of my Kiwi friends are moving to London. Despite not making Dutch BFFS with anyone called Gijs or Femke, I did make a whole group of close friends from all corners of the world. If I had one thing to say to myself at the beginning of the exchange, I would probably tell myself to not worry about making friends. There’s plenty of ways to make new friends.

Looking back on academic differences and moving on to whatever’s next

NikoLeave a comment

By Nooa Karlo (University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

It’s finally the end. After a long four and half months, I’ll be leaving Hong Kong on Monday morning. It really doesn’t feel as long when looking back on the final day, though. It feels like the exam period that’s lasted for the past four weeks represents a kind of escalation in the perceived speed at which days have been passing. I’m sure I’m not the only one that feels this way. Everyone’s busy during exams, and I was especially so because I had so many modules that required final papers instead of exams, and the deadlines for those papers were almost all of them in early May. In addition, I spent four days travelling and visiting a friend in Taiwan in late April, which, while allowing me to take my mind off of studying, also took some energy. The April-May juncture left me quite exhausted, so I’ve spent the past few weeks trying to rest as much as I can. And now I have to leave? It feels very sudden, even though I’ve had everything planned and ready for over a month now. But at the same time I feel like I’m quite ready to move on.

20180527_233213.jpg
The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan.

Continue reading “Looking back on academic differences and moving on to whatever’s next” →

Spring Break in Cabo

ysabelhannamLeave a comment

Spring Break really needs no introduction, but in case you haven’t watch any American ‘college’ movies, here’s what it is:

Spring Break is normally a week holiday (yes only a week!) that kinda correlates to the UK’s Easter weekend, but it doesn’t always. Spring Break is notorious for college students descending on countries with warm weather, beaches and cheap booze, or places where the drinking age is 18. One of my friends who I met at Davis at our study abroad orientation, joined a sorority, she told me and another study abroad friend about plans to go to Cabo in Mexico for Spring Break. Naturally we hoped on board as we wanted to have the full American college experience.

The weekend that finals finished, off we jetted to Cabo. As soon as we stepped off the plane we felt the heat! We decided to book our trip with an all-inclusive company, with a wristband that meant breakfast and drinks were included in a reasonably priced hotel room. When we first arrived we have to go through an orientation where we got said wristbands, some free merch, and had a safety talk run by ex-cops. They emphasised the 3 big no-nos in Mexico: no drugs, no going anywhere alone and no urban peeing. Once that was over we got a shuttle bus all the way around to where our hotel was.
33653491_10213807627518797_2389613150866505728_n.jpg


33466818_10213807628038810_6253629759167660032_n.jpg

Our hotel was lovely, and only a 7 minute walk to the beach. The first night we watched the sunset on the beach, and then got some yummy tacos and margaritas. I have to say as much as we wanted to have the Spring Break experience, we also prioritised just doing what we wanted in order to make the most of a holiday with friends. So for the majority of the week we spent lazing on the beach or by the pool, reading our books, working on our tans, and trying out different restaurants along the strip. At night we would pre-drink in our hotel room, and then go to a few of the bars our all-inclusive wristband had scheduled. Then we would hit El Squid Roe, one of the weirdest and most unique clubs I have ever been to. El Squid Roe had booths all along the sides and smaller tables down the middle, filled with people dancing. There were three stories and upstairs was like a balcony running the whole way round.  Basic club house remixes blared from the speakers, and every inch of the space was filled by bodies dancing away. My favourite club was called Mandala, it played pop and RnB music and had a decent sized dance floor.

33503351_10213807627598799_4512453809825382400_n.jpg

I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about going on Spring Break, my usual choice on holiday is somewhere with a bit more of a traditional cultural experience, with sightseeing etc. If it hadn’t been Spring Break perhaps Cabo could have been more like this, but at the time we went Cabo was overridden with college students, giving it a much different feel. From what I had seen in movies, a lot of Spring ‘Breakers’ can be very entitled and rude to local people and I did not want to be lumped into that crowd. Luckily my friends and I managed to steer clear of anyone that gave off those vibes, and we had a fun holiday together.

33597104_10213807646639275_1995804515709747200_n

Overall I would definitely recommend going on a Spring Break holiday with your new friends, its a way to bond about more than just classes or being study abroad students, and a fun way to spend a holiday off uni. I would also recommend Cabo as a destination, we had a lot of laughs and fun on the beach and walking up and down the strip.

Tips and Tricks I’ve learnt

ajwill31Leave a comment

by Amy Williams, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  1. Speak to the people who’ve gone abroad before you – you might think you know all the necessary stuff for going abroad, but it can’t help to speak to people who’ve gone before you. They may give you cheaper ways to travel, transfer money, or you simply have someone your age who can just reassure you of the amazing time you’re going to have. Personally, I got told that I could waive the insurance here at UNC, saving me a lot of money.
    img_19481
    New Orleans – Alligator Swamp Tour!

    Continue reading “Tips and Tricks I’ve learnt” →

Copenhagen Coffee Culture

Alice LoganLeave a comment

Alice Logan, English and American Studies, University of Copenhagen

 

Denmark is one of the happiest countries in the world and after exploring Copenhagen one coffee shop at a time, I can see why!  Below are a few of my absolute favourite coffee shops…

42Raw

Pilestræde 32, 1112 København

Tucked away down an unassuming side street just off Norreport station you’ll find 42Raw, one of Copenhagen’s plant based coffee shops.  Their expansive menu ranges from açai bowls and raw smoothies to lentil burgers and peanut butter milkshakes.  Try the raw chocolate chip cookies and the beetroot latte for a light snack or the vegan lasagnaee which is life changing.

2A576B29-97D7-4E4A-B01A-DCEBD99E9EE5

Continue reading “Copenhagen Coffee Culture” →

The Highs and Lows Of Studying Abroad

gabipriceblogsLeave a comment

For my third study abroad blog I thought it would be appropriate to consider the highs and lows of my experiences. What better place to reflect on them, than where I am right now. As I write this, I’m cruising at a steady 650mph, 11,000 ft in the air over Canada. I’m half way into my 12 hour journey home from Phoenix, and headed back to my favourite Northern city of Manchester. As I sit here in my cramped economy seat, I have plenty of time to reflect on the past 5 months in Arizona, and come to terms with the fact that it has come to an end. What an experience it has been! There’s certainly been highs, and there’s certainly been lows, not forgetting the countless in-betweens. Some of these experiences have been unique to me and my situation, and others are likely applicable for many others who have embarked on a study abroad period. Whether you’ve been on a study abroad period or not, or whether you’re about to embark on one, this should be helpful to you! So here it is: the highs and lows of studying abroad (or rather, MY highs and lows of studying abroad).

IMG_6440.JPG

The Highs:

Let’s start with the highs, as there are plenty more of those than there are lows!

  1. Experiencing a New Culture: As cliché as this sounds it really is true. I never expected that the US would have such a different culture to the UK, and in many ways it is similar. But, in others it really is not! (If you’re interested in the differences specifically, have a read of my other blog https://manchesterontheroad.com/2018/04/02/20-cultural-differences-uk-vs-us/). Experiencing a new culture first hand forces you to challenge your presuppositions head-on, and really engage with the motives and reasons for people’s beliefs and practices that may seem foreign to you. One of my absolute favourite parts of studying abroad was having really meaningful conversations with people, and asking why some things are the way that they are.
  2. Travel: When studying abroad, it’s likely that half of the time you won’t be ‘studying’ at all. Having several months of access to a part of the world which you may not normally be so close to is such a unique experience. Especially for me being so far away from home, I wanted to pack in as much travel as my uni timetable and budget would allow. I loved that when I was beginning to feel a little fed up with the monotony of class, I could think about my upcoming weekend trip and have a cheeky browse of TripAdvisor for things to do in the city that I was travelling to.
  3. A Banging Instagram: Off the back of the travelling perks comes the banging Instagram feed. My photos over the last 5 months have been significantly better, and more interesting than ever before! Whether it’s a national park, museum or beach, you’re guaranteed some enviable pics for the gram (‘@gabiprice_’ if you’re interested).
  4. Increasing Travel Experience: Again linking to the travel associated with studying abroad, the more frequent level of travel helps to increase your travel savviness and skills. I feel far more equipped to find a bargain flight or Airbnb now, than I did before studying abroad, and am also far more confident at planning travel to an undiscovered place without the help of my parents!

    IMG_5663
    A snap from my trip to San Fran, it was beautiful!
  5. Learning From a New Perspective: I know I previously said that half your time won’t be studying, but that was perhaps slightly exaggerated. You will of course STUDY, when you are studying abroad. College classes in the US were far different from home for me, and this provided the unique chance to learn from a different perspective. For example, I learned the art of the multiple-choice test (surprisingly, it’s not pure guesswork). Although I may not have loved that method of testing, it definitely increased my skills and broadened my academic horizons!
  6. Learning About Yourself: Again I know this may sound a little cringe or cliché, but for me it really was the truth. I learnt so much by being away from a comfortable environment for 5 months, and essentially being ‘on my own’ without family or long-established friends. Being far from home forces you to challenge what you’re comfortable with, and genuinely challenges the ways that you think and act. For example, an ‘epiphany’ I had about myself whilst abroad was that I don’t think I’m cut out for 9-5 life. Call me lazy, or a classical millennial, but it’s the truth. I realised that I don’t want to live my life waiting for the weekend. I want adventure and challenge, and something that enables me to explore the world and make a difference in it.
  7. Finding ‘Your People’ Across the Globe: This encompasses all of the other ‘highs’ that I have mentioned, and my experiences abroad would not have been the same without the people that I met. I was repeatedly told before I came abroad that I would find ‘family’ in Arizona, and I didn’t really know if that would be the case. I thought that I would definitely make some good friends, some people to spend time with whilst I was there, but I could have never imagined the deep friendships that I would make. I’m tearing up thinking about the people I have had to leave behind as I write this! I met some incredible people in Arizona, people from both the US and other places around the world. You will find ‘your people’ when abroad, and when you do you’ll leave a little bit of your heart behind with them. To all of the people reading this who I met in Arizona, you know who you are and I miss you already. (please come and visit me soon!).
IMG_5695
Some of my wonderful Americans, I love you all so much!

 

The Lows:

Despite the abundance of ‘highs’ the ‘lows’ still exist, and that is just a part of life and a part of studying abroad.

  1. Missing ‘Your People’ at Home: In order to go ‘abroad’, you of course have to leave where you live. In leaving where you live, this often means leaving behind the people that live there too. I never imagined a period of my life where I wouldn’t see my mum for over 5 months, but it happened! Leaving behind friends and family will always be hard, and whether they can visit or not doesn’t change the fact that you don’t see them as often as you normally would. It’s hard, but it’s doable, and it makes you all the more grateful and excited to see them again when you return. (I cannot wait to see so many of you who will be reading this!).
  2. FOMO: Alongside leaving your friends and family behind, you’re leaving behind your normal life, and the things that you would usually be around for. Whether it’s genuinely exciting occasions such as weddings or birthdays, or whether it’s something as simple as being a little jealous that your flatmates are going to your favourite club without you, it’ll happen. You’ll learn to deal with it by posting fun Instagrams of what they’re missing out on.
  3. Running Low on Money: It doesn’t have to be a crazy expensive experience to study abroad, but if you’re travelling a fair bit, and generally just investing in fun experiences, it’ll probably set you back a bit more than a normal semester at uni would. Although this may be a worry for some people, my attitude is very much ‘enjoy it while you can’, this is a unique experience in your life which you probably won’t have again. Make the most of it!

    IMG_1798
    A visit to Disney California was essential, but its one of things that perhaps eats into the budget a little!
  4. Not Being at Home for ‘that’ News: Last week I received some pretty sad news from home, my wonderful Grandad has passed away, and I wasn’t there to say goodbye. This hurts, and there is no easy way to deal with it. For me, I was blessed to have supportive people around me in Arizona, and to know that I was coming home very soon to be with my family. That won’t be the case for everyone who experiences ‘that’ news, and it’s hard. However, I know for me and for many others who have experienced loss whilst away from home, it shouldn’t stop you from going. My grandparents were very clear that I should enjoy my time abroad, and make the most of it regardless of if anything happened. I hope I was able to do that, and honour my Grandad the way that he would have wanted.
  5. Leaving ‘Your ‘Abroad’ People’: As I already mentioned, the hardest part of this whole experience was having to say goodbye to the friends that I have made. I’ve cried about it, and I’ve wished it wasn’t the reality of this situation. But it is. It is definitely a low, but it’s okay! The world is vast, but nowhere is too far away to go back to. I know that I will see those people again, and I know that this 12 hour flight won’t stop us from meeting again someday.

So to sum it up, do I regret studying abroad because of the lows? Absolutely not. The highs far outweigh the lows, and the reality of life is that you will have lows wherever you are. Studying abroad is an insanely unique experience which is like no other. You will laugh, you will cry, and will miss home. But you’ll love it, and you’ll meet incredible people around the world that you wouldn’t have met otherwise. You will broaden your horizons, and you will leave a little piece of you behind wherever you go. I could not be more thankful to have had this opportunity. To all of the people that made this experience, I just want to say thank you. Those from YoungLife ASU, my fellow foreign exchange students, my classmates, my roommates and everyone else that I met along the way, thank you from the bottom of my heart. YOU made this experience for me.

IMG_3745
My fellow exchange girls repping the Sun Devils at the basketball!

 

Until next time, this is me signing off! I’ll be back for another blog once I’m settled back in at home. Until then, find me on Instagram for pretty photos @gabiprice_ or message me on social media if you know me personally and want to chat about any of this.

Love, Gabi xoxo