Name: Lydia Klumb
Majors: Psychology and Marine Biology
Year in School: Sophomore
Host Institution: University of Groningen in Groningen, Netherlands
Why did you choose your program: I knew I wanted to go somewhere in Europe where I could travel easily, and wanted to push myself outside of my comfort zone by going to a country where English isn’t the official language. The Netherlands meets both of those requirements, along with being a beautiful and welcoming country. Additionally, the University of Groningen is one of the top universities in the world, and continuing my education is a priority for me while I’m abroad.
What Goals Have you set for your time abroad: My main goals are to be able to immerse myself in a new country and culture. I want to try as many new things as possible while pushing myself out of my comfort zone in order to have the best experience possible. I am so excited to continue my studies in a new country and have a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience new cultures and countries!
What research have you done about your host country: The first thing I did was to look up the official language of the country (which is Dutch). I also wanted to look into what the major cities in the Netherlands were. I looked at some of the popular tourist attractions and some of the local tips and favorites. Most of my research was through online blogs, YouTube videos, and travel books. As much as I enjoyed learning more about the country, and found the initial and basic research helpful, it is difficult to be completely prepared until you are actually in the country. As long as you have a basic understanding of the country by visiting the government pages and a few travel blogs, you should be fine!