What to expect from your year abroad: tips and tricks for an unforgettable experience

Let’s be real, the first few thoughts that come to mind when a year abroad gets mentioned probably go along the lines of: a free holiday, fresh tan, AND a lover that you’ve dragged back with you to England. 

Having said this, there is a bit more that comes out of a year abroad, speaking from experience. And – shockingly – some of it is even more fulfilling than such aforementioned things.  

So, I was in Colombia for half my year abroad and Madrid for the second half and just to be clear, when people say they ‘found themselves on a year abroad blah, blah, blah….’, remain doubtful as this is a tad idealistic. What I did get though was some invaluable experiences – ones that set you in the best stead for the start of your future career. 

Top tips to make your year abroad as smooth as possible

Give yourself a month to settle in. No matter how beautiful the country is, the first month will always be difficult. There will be some ups and downs, so just learn to embrace them both equally.  In fact, the most important things I got out of the whole year came from the more challenging parts.

Research and plan your accommodation well before. This is potentially the MOST important thing. You want to feel as safe and comfortable as possible, especially when you’ve just landed in the middle of an alien place. The best advice is to find a flat-share with other year-abroad students – just for the first few weeks – so you can rest assured you’re all in the same boat. Or if you want a more culturally enriching experience, stay with a family local to the area through a homestay.

Get EVERYTHING organized before, and I mean everything. When you’ve just entered a country with completely new systems and processes, you can’t rely upon last minute plans. So, make sure your visa’s sorted, your travel insurance is in place and your bag is packed well before your flight!

how this year can put you in the best possible position for your future career path

Genuinely, the most personal growth I’ve experienced has come from my year abroad.

So, what specifically can you expect from your own?

Firstly, you learn how to be truly independent. Nothing prepares you for some of the challenges that come from the sheer amount of independence you have on a year abroad. Rest assured, it rapidly changes from something new and terrifying to a freeing and key learning experience. You might be faced with having to relearn how everyday processes are handled and the customs surrounding them. In Colombia it took a few complicated weeks to set up a functional, yet affordable SIM card and in Spain I had to come to terms with the fact it is not atypical to pay your rent in cash. Things don’t work quite as easily when you’re not accustomed to the process, and being pushed out of my comfort zone was the best thing for me to come back and tackle my final year of university. 

Secondly, the work involved for a year-abroad teaches you to get over the feeling of the dreaded ‘imposter syndrome’. Attendance and consistent class participation at universities abroad is taken very seriously, and teamwork is a fundamental part of your final grade. This moulded me into becoming as actively involved as possible with my education. It also meant I had the opportunity to learn first-hand from a diverse group of people with culturally poignant, first-hand understandings of the very countries I was trying to learn more about. When taking a Marxism unit in Colombia I learnt from my classmates about the driving force of this ideology within their collective student movements that had been so key to fighting against government corruption, inequality, and violence. Indeed, nearly half of the class were students that had participated in the 2018 mass protests in Bogota, some having even faced injuries as a direct result of the police violence. Something that previously I would have studied in an impersonalised and distanced manner was transformed during my year abroad into issues with societal effects, apparent in every part of my daily life. 

The last thing to say is that you will gain a major amount of confidence in quite literally every aspect of your life. During my time abroad, I faced being nearly stampeded during a free festival in the centre of Cali. I climbed the Montserrat Mountain, which is 10,000 feet high, with the fitness levels of a sloth. I was even urinated on while walking to class by a passer-by. A year abroad really does open you up to things you might never have thought of before, but this leaves you with a much more open and proactive attitude. Some of the more serious things I accomplished on my year abroad, at least the ones not involving urine, are bound to prove invaluable in the next steps of my career, as they will yours! 

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