Why I’m No Longer Studying Abroad

The new direction of my study abroad journey & the fate of The Study Abroad Blog

My original goal was to turn The Study Abroad Blog into the ultimate guide for students studying abroad. I would head to a new location and study a new topic/subject every semester for as long as I could. For a while there, everything was going as planned, and I genuinely think it would’ve worked. But then something happened towards the end of last semester which threw a wrench in that plan – I realized I loved China, I wanted to keep learning Chinese, and I didn’t want to go to another country at the moment. Rather than give up on blogging, I decided to adapt and although you can’t see it yet, The Study Abroad Blog has undergone the biggest change of it’s 3 year life during the past few weeks.

I’ve been writing The Study Abroad Blog for 3 years now, and in the past year or so, there’s been an awesome explosion in the number of other study abroad bloggers who’ve decided to share their study abroad stories as well.

The big problem is that there was no central place, no community where all of these bloggers could connect. All of the valuable information, advice, and inspiration that study abroad bloggers had been putting out was getting lost as it drifted on it’s own in the vast digital universe.

Considering both the rise in popularity of study abroad blogging, and a lack of a central hub for gathering this great study abroad content, I decided it was time to start a venture true to my blog’s name and nature. The final result: The Study Abroad Blog Network.

What is The Study Abroad Blog (TSAB) Network?

The Study Abroad Blog Network is a WordPress powered blogging community which provides a high-quality, safe, and free platform for students to share their study abroad experiences through posts, pages, pictures and other media on their blogs.

How is TSAB different from other blog networks?

I admit there are plenty of other free blogging platforms out there, including some existing education blog networks, but only the TSAB Network is tailored solely to study abroad students. Study abroad blogging is what we do, and all efforts will be focused on maintaining a quality blogging community.

The original goal (turning The Study Abroad Blog into the ultimate resource for students studying abroad) has never changed, it just has a new name – instead of the ultimate “guide”, it’s going to become the ultimate “study abroad social and blogging network”.

Students will be able to create their own unique study abroad blog, and have their content broadcasted out over The Study Abroad Blog’s social media following on Facebook and Twitter. As the blogging community grows, members will also have the ability to connect with other study abroad students via forums, groups, and messaging.

It will be a study abroad resource unlike any other.

Your TSAB Blog

Any study abroad student can sign up for his or her own blog on the TSAB Network Sign Up Page, and membership is currently free! Once registered, you’ll have access to over 130 blogging themes or “skins”, and a number of other widget and plugin options to customize your new blog to fit your style and personality.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words (especially for study abroad students), you’ll also be able to upload photos, videos, podcasts, and music. Media can be organized into folders, galleries and albums and integrated directly into your posts and pages.

Not into the technical aspect of blogging? No worries, TSAB blogs are ready to use right out of the box. When signing up, you’ll also be presented with the option to set your dashboard to either easy or standard mode and you’ll have the ability to switch back and forth whenever you want later on.

My new definition of studying abroad

So to tie up up any loose ends and clear up any confusion, I’m no longer studying abroad according to the dictionary definition. I have, however, moved to Beijing for the near future, and my learning hasn’t stopped since I first came here a year ago. I guess in that sense, I still consider myself studying abroad.

With less time taken up by homework and exams, I’ll be focusing much more on creating the ultimate study abroad blogging network. If you’d like to join in, feel free to sign up for you own study abroad blog right now or read more about the TSAB Network on the TSAB support page.

If you have any other questions or comments please feel free to leave them below and I’ll get back to you!

Don’t forget to Like The Blog on Facebook, Follow on Twitter, or create your own TSAB Blog!