This month, many DU students received their long-anticipated study abroad nominations. The vague dream of spending fall quarter abroad is finally becoming real, and you are full of excitement, anticipation, anxiety and, most of all, questions. This experience, for most students, is far beyond the knowledge and comfort zone of anything they have experienced before.
DU offers many resources to help new study abroad nominees prepare for their upcoming adventure. However, despite these resources, sometimes students can feel completely unprepared and not sure what to expect.
As many juniors and seniors are just returning from study abroad, they have a lot of ideas to share for those who are starting to think about this next big step in the college experience at DU.
A few tips to get started:
Do not compare programs with friends’ programs, especially if you didn’t get your first choice. Every program is completely different. It’s not even possible to compare because of the variety of experiences and lessons you will learn in any location.
Start researching your country now. Don’t blow it off. Coming into a country with at least a broad overview of their political situation, history and cultural knowledge will help you right away in connecting with locals. Whether we like it or not, many locals of foreign countries assume that Americans are ignorant about other countries. Many conversations will revolve around current events, and having some basic knowledge about what is going on will help you keep up with these conversations and disprove the negative American stereotype.
In addition, look at the weather where you are traveling. Southern hemisphere seasons are opposite of the Northern hemisphere, so if you are going to South America, Africa or Australia, you will be arriving in winter and coming home in late spring. Looking on the Internet for average temperatures for each month will help you plan accordingly.
Get courses approved from major advisors as thoughtfully as possible. Using classes from study abroad toward your major or minor can help a lot because when you get back, you will need to start thinking seriously about graduation requirements. A lot of the classes offered abroad can be vague enough that they count for a class that you might not think they would.
In addition, don’t stress if class options aren’t available for your program yet. Many programs don’t post their class offerings until late. Approvals can be done during your time abroad or when you get back.
Bring more money than you think you will need and look at ways to exchange money. Exchanging money at the airport will yield a bad exchange rate, so it is a good idea to exchange a little bit at your local bank. Wells Fargo is one nearby bank that offers currency exchange, and you don’t need an account there to use this service. Exchange a little money before you go, and then find the most efficient ways to exchange money once you get to your country by looking online or talking to locals. In some countries, using debit cards wracks up significant international charges, and the case is the same with using ATMs. Currency exchange is something that varies greatly based on the country you are going to.
Pack smart and leave room in your suitcase for souvenirs to bring home. Don’t pack like you would for a regular quarter at DU; you can wear some of the same things over and over and even throw clothes away when you leave to free up room in your suitcase. Think about what type of bag you will want to bring on weekend trips. Suitcases with rollers do not do well on these kinds of trips—bring a duffel or backpack.
There are many lessons that you will learn the first day, week and month that you are in your country that no one can prepare you for. You will be learning all the way to your last day abroad, and this is one of the amazing things about the experience as a whole. The most important tip anyone can give, though, is to go in with an open mind and open arms to embrace the culture you are about to experience.
