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How to Navigate Study Abroad When You’re Completely Lost in Class
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When you go abroad and take classes with local students, you’ll encounter many things that make absolutely no sense. It’s already challenging to study Spanish, but on top of that, you’re expected to learn about other topics like economics, the environment, psychology, and philosophy—all in Spanish! It’s tough, to say the least. When I studied…
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Study Abroad and Assimilation: Worth the Effort
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“I haven’t gone there,” my host-mother declared in Spanish one night early in my study abroad experience. We were eating dinner together, and I was sharing my plans to go to a restaurant the next day with a few of my friends that I had made while studying in Sevilla, Spain. “It’s a place for…
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How Study Abroad in Costa Rica Helped Me Rediscover My True Self
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These past weeks feel like a dream. It’s as if I’ve been transported to another world—a completely different country, immersed in an unfamiliar family, experiencing things I had never imagined. For me, this journey has been filled with so many “firsts,” and that is exactly what I was seeking: to continually create and embrace these…
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Treading Water: The First-Gen Study Abroad Experience
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Studying abroad as a first-generation college student feels a lot like being thrown into the deep end of a pool with no life raft and no map. I knew how to stay afloat, but I had no idea where I was going or what was beneath me. The excitement of being in a new country…
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How to Tell Your Immigrant Family You Want to Study Abroad
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If you come from an immigrant family, you can understand how intimidating it can be to tell them that you want to study abroad. Moving to a different country sounds less fun and exciting to many immigrant parents. It can also sound dangerous and unnecessary. Many immigrant parents have come to their new country under…
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Simple Recipes That Make Life Abroad Sweeter
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Moving to Prague as a first-generation student opened my eyes to the city’s vibrant food culture, but also to an unexpected reality: while most of my classmates easily navigate the city’s restaurant scene, dining out for every meal isn’t a luxury all of us can afford. This challenge led me to discover something beautiful—the way…
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Navigating Study Abroad as an Introvert
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Studying abroad is often depicted as a whirlwind of social interactions, bustling city explorations, and constant group activities. But what if you’re someone who finds solace in quiet moments, recharges through alone time, and prefers deep, meaningful connections over large social gatherings? As an introvert, these are all characteristics I embrace, and navigating a study…
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Balancing Identities and Finding Yourself Abroad
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The first question we are often asked when we meet new people as college students is, “What is your major?” Most of our lives revolve around our classes and how we are pursuing our careers. Yet as I reflect on what I value and how I want to be known, I must also weigh how…
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Adjusting to Daily Life as A Study Abroad Student in London
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Getting to Know London at King’s College As a third-year economics student at Duke, I spent my fall semester at King’s College in London. London didn’t feel too far from home because there was no language barrier and I had been there before. But there were certainly some unexpected transitional periods. Living in a flat and…
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Stepping Outside the Safety of Hometown
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Studying abroad was the first time in the past decade I had lived anywhere outside of Oberlin, Ohio. I grew up there and now attend Oberlin College. I was incredibly nervous to be in a completely new place, across the ocean from anyone I knew and any sense of familiarity. Gaining confidence to explore But…