First off DO IT! Don’t let certain things stop you, as I always say, “If there’s a will there’s a way.”
Studying abroad is one of the most eye opening experiences I’ve had. You really learn so much about people and their cultures and SO much about yourself as well. I learned what things make me uncomfortable, how much I want bilingual kids, the importance of learning about the culture of places before going and what kind of travel companion I like.
I struggled a lot with trying to find the “best” location but honestly the location can be perfect but it’s really what you make of it. I do however highly recommend traveling somewhere in Europe, so that you can travel to other countries during your study abroad experience.
During the four months that I’ve been studying in Greece I went to, Rome, Meteora, Milan, Romania, Corinth, Crete, Mykonos, London and all around Athens. If you have any questions about any of those places or which trip was my favorite please don’t hesitate to ask.
One thing I’ve learned, is that sometimes its not about the place you travel to, but the people you meet there.
Another thing I learned is that It’s all about friendships, I’ve been lucky enough to make some super awesome friends since I’ve been here, these are the people you’ll most likely be traveling places with and becoming life long friends. So don’t be shy the first couple of days and really make some good friends with common interests and fun spirits!
Another piece of advice would be to do as much as you can to find some sort of routine or normality in your schedule. This really helped me either stay active, or just have some sort of normality in the midst of the chaos. Nothing about studying abroad is normal or the same everyday and sometimes that can be super overwhelming. Especially when you travel a lot on the weekends, it can become exhausting.
One of the most important pieces advice is, DON’T COMPARE YOUR EXPERIENCE TO OTHERS. This was something I struggled so much with in the beginning was that my experience had to be the same and or better than others but that’s not true at all! We all are going to have such different experiences and meet new people and go to new places, don’t give into a pressure to want to do everything everyone else is doing.
Try new things!!! Especially food and experiences. I think it’s so easy for people to try and make another country feel like America or home but its not and that’s okay, embrace it! I was so tempted to always wanting to get chicken fingers and fries everywhere I went or try and go to the places that looked most like the states but I don’t think that’s the point at all! The point is to get the most out of your comfort zone just for the experience. One of my favorite out of comfort zones experiences was when my phone didn’t have data and I had to rely on myself, maps and asking other people for directions, the language barrier was real and it was super hard but it was so much fun. This was such a adventurous (but also stressful) way to explore a new city.
Lastly, Plans some trips on your own. The trips where i went places and met with disciples in different places were my favorite, Sometimes its much more stress free when you can just do what you want and not worry about other people, but please be safe and aware of your surroundings of course.
In conclusion, Please study abroad, I promise no one has ever done it and regretted it! Greece is a beautiful place to go and I will be making a new blog post on why I loved Greece Specifically. But do it, adventure it out there!!
Thanks for reading.
Maggie Decker
Major: Business Administration
Class rank: Sophomore
Program Name: Exchange Program with the American College of Greece
Semester of study: Fall 2019
Blog site: https://maggiedecker20.wixsite.com/website/home/first-couple-of-days-in-greece