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Ten Steps to Complete Before You Study Abroad
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While studying abroad at University of Galway in Ireland, I have had the opportunity to meet so many amazing people and travel to so many amazing places. For me, this is a time to explore different countries and experience different cultures. I was excited to go, but also nervous to be so far from home. So, here are the ten steps I completed before I departed to make study abroad a little…
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Don’t Spend Your Study Abroad Semester in an Airport
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It is easy to get caught up in the travel flex when you get to London. I’ve done my fair share of travel already, having been to Dublin and Morocco, and writing from Wales, where I am visiting with my IFSA group. I have more trips lined up for the next few months, but I’ve realized if you aren’t careful, you could end up treating London like a glorified base camp instead of the place you live. The…
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My Four Agreements for Studying Abroad in Edinburgh
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I first encountered The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz while browsing a small bookstore off the Royal Mile during my first week as a student abroad. I had just finished IFSA orientation and was still adjusting to academic life at a UK university. I felt a strange mixture of independence and uncertainty that comes with arriving in a new country. I picked up the…
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What Did Abu Dhabi Teach Me About Culture, Innovation, and Health Care?
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As a student from a small women’s college in Georgia, I arrived in Abu Dhabi full of excitement and curiosity. I was eager to study sustainability, innovation, and health care systems from a global perspective while experiencing a culture very different from my own. I did not expect how much this experience would shape the way I think about public health,…
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How an Internship in Buenos Aires Changed the Way I Think About Work
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When I chose an IFSA program in Buenos Aires, I wanted an authentic experience that would challenge me in all aspects of life. One of the best choices I made was enrolling in an internship that pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me skills I didn’t even know I needed. Finding my place at Federación Argentina LGBT In the weeks before I…
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What’s So Good About the University of Oxford Academic System?
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As a student at a liberal arts college in North Carolina, I was used to traditional classroom lectures, homework that took a couple of hours a day, and 16-week semesters ending with exams or project submissions. Oxford asked me to throw all of this out the window. At Oxford, I had two classes (tutorials) instead of the four. We dove much deeper into subject matter. There is a…
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Discovering Peru’s Diversity: My Semester Abroad Across Mountains, Deserts, and Rainforests
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When I arrived in Lima, Peru, I was excited for a semester in a big city, improving my Spanish, eating delicious food, and dancing salsa. However, I did not know much about the country I had chosen to live in for the next few months, other than that it is famous for ceviche (a seafood dish) and Machu Picchu. Five months later, my study abroad experience…
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Finding a Home Away from Home
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When I first boarded a plane from the U.S. to Shanghai for my study abroad experience, excitement and fear surged. I had dreamed of traveling abroad, but nothing quite prepares you for the moment when familiar language, food, and routines disappear all at once. Coming from a Brazilian background, where conversation and shared meals are part of…
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Tech, Community, and Networking in Prague: The Unexpected Career Boost of Study Abroad
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Before I came to Prague, I worried that study abroad might put any advancement toward a career on pause. While my peers in the U.S. were networking, interning, and preparing for the next steps, I imagined myself travelling—at the cost of disconnecting from anything professionally meaningful. I could not have been more wrong. Study abroad has accelerated my growth in ways I never expected. Gaining experience at a tech startup One…
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Learning the Language Abroad: One Key to Cultural Understanding
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Everyone says the first weeks of study abroad are the hardest, but I disagree. When I arrived in Mérida, Mexico, I was greeted by a loving host family and found friends I liked early on. Of course, there were struggles. But overall, those first weeks were some of the most exciting of my life as…