Everyone who is going abroad sometime next  school year found out their destination this Friday Feb. 19 or Saturday Feb. 20, and this newfound knowledge has surely set this group of students abuzz with a combination of excitement and nerves. Going abroad can certainly be intimidating, but never fear; the Clarion has all you need to know to be prepared for your upcoming adventure.

1) Don’t be disappointed if you didn’t get your first choice

I can say from personal experience that sometimes not getting your first choice of study abroad destination can be a blessing in disguise and work out better than your first choice ever would have. While it may be a bit disappointing at first, soak in the sadness for a bit and then shake it off—you still get to go on an amazing adventure in a foreign land. Research the program and country a bit more and maybe try to talk with returnees to get a feel for it. While you may feel dejected, I highly suggest letting the idea of a new destination sink in for a bit before you make any big decisions on whether or not to go. The more you think about the new location, the more you may learn to love it.

2) Research before you go

You’ve probably already done some research on your country, but now that you know where you are going for sure, take time to do more serious research. What’s the conversion rate for the currency in this country? How much will you have to save up to have the experience you want? Creating a rough budget and getting somewhat of an idea of conversion rates is one of the most essential things you can do to prevent blowing all your money in the first week. Do you need to apply for a visa, and if so, when and where? Don’t be that person who tries to get a visa a week before departure. Finally, make sure to brush up on the language a bit (for those who haven’t studied the language of the country they are going to) so you’re not the most obnoxious tourist in the world.

Once you have all the serious stuff figured out, you can get to the more fun research—what you want to do while you’re there. Get a feel for what the country and/or region have to offer, and what sort of time frame you have to travel beyond your destination city if you plan to do so. Or you can decide to immerse yourself in the culture of your chosen place and stay there the entire time, which is a perfectly legitimate option as well. Either way, you should also research the history of your destination city and all that makes it unique and wonderful. You must also change your computer background to a picture of said city—it is an unspoken rule of studying abroad.

3) Soak it all in

This advice is more for when you arrive at your destination, but anyone I’ve ever talked to who has gone abroad can agree on one thing—it goes faster than you can imagine. Take in everything—the jitters before your long flight, how it feels to get off the plane for the first time, awkwardly meeting the other people on your program, going on crazy adventures and making lifelong friends, the time you’ll do a crazy thing in a random city and everything in between. Make sure to leave your comfort zone—not in a dangerous way, be smart and safe—but also push and challenge yourself. It’s an integral part of growing as a person, which you’ll do a lot of while you’re abroad. Just make sure not to let any moment slip by, because before you know it you’ll be back at DU, giving advice to students going abroad and wishing you could do it all over again.