The ultimate study abroad resource – a blog about the study abroad experience written by a study abroad student to help other study abroad students
Packing lists have become somewhat of a specialty here on The Study Abroad Blog, with a packing list for a year abroad, one for weekend trips and travel, and of course, how exactly to pack in these situations. One thing I haven’t covered though, is what you don’t want to pack for study abroad. Since packing seems to be one of the most dreaded parts of the pre-study abroad prep period, keep reading to learn what you should leave behind.
Whether you realize it or not, as you prepare for your service learning experience, you are setting expectations. You have pictures in your head, likely from photographs used to market the trip, about what the community you visit will look like. You have likely thought about how you will feel when you first start your volunteer project and how you will feel when you leave the community to return home at the end of the experience.
Studying abroad can be expensive; and even for those who successfully find scholarships for their program, forgetting about your finances back home can be a recipe for disaster. To avoid damaging your credit, getting into unnecessary debt, or simply wasting money, here are a few things to think about before you go.
I’ve previously written, both on TSAB and studyabroad.com, about advice for acclimating to your abroad location – things like buying a cell phone, learning transportation routes, and finding supermarkets. While all of that is very practical, there’s other information and advice that’s bit more general, but also probably more helpful to know, especially in a city like Beijing.
A lot has been written about the 21st century – the start of the global age – and the need now more than ever before for Americans to gain international experience. Much of the time this relates directly to studying abroad. While it’s almost all true, in my mind there seems to be a flaw in the way we look at the benefits of growing up in a global society and learning in a global classroom. And here’s why.
Medical insurance..it’s one of those things students either avoid or ignore altogether when preparing to study abroad. I could tell you stories about the inconveniences of having to pay your medical costs up front or finding the closest hospital while you’re traveling in a country where you don’t speak the language. But instead I’ll encourage you to just mull over this thought – you’re in another country on the other side of the world, would you really want to break a leg, or worse, be close to death on a hospital bed without insurance?