Ciao! After a year of waiting to study abroad, I will be on the other side of the world in less than two weeks!
Since the beginning of my third year in college, I have not been involved with Her Campus, Hiking Club, or other events that happen on campus. Over the summer, I got a part time job back at home in order to save up money to study abroad. Most of my time was dedicated to my studies and work.
As I mentioned in one of my previous articles, the process of applying to study abroad is long, but easy with the help of the study abroad center. After I received my acceptance to the program, I attended orientation in February. They gave us information and tips about living abroad. Then, two weeks later we had our financial aid orientation. They helped me determine whether or not I qualified for aid, how to accept financial aid, and other questions. Along the way, there were deadlines we had to meet in order to prepare for our departure. We had to complete various forms about our emergency contact information, passport information, contracts, etc. By February, we had to submit our arrival information and our international cell phone plan.
Here are some things that I have been doing in the past month in order to get ready before I leave. I have been downloading applications that I find helpful in order to stay in touch with my family back at home. Skype, WhatsApp, WeChat, FaceTime are some of the apps that are helpful to stay in touch. It is highly recommended to download these apps back home since internet connection may fail while abroad. Speaking of technology make sure to get adapters that allow you to fit your dual-voltage appliances into foreign wall outlets. Also, one my family friends highly recommended to get an undergarment waist wallet because of pickpocketing that happens in tourist areas.
Now I’m just waiting for the day to arrive to embark into this new journey. I cannot wait to share with all of you about my adventures abroad.