Studying Abroad: My Advice

After revisiting this blog after a little while, I thought it made sense to write some kind of conclusion, so here it is.

 Having been lucky enough to spend the 2015-2016 academic year in the University of New Mexico, I'd like to think I'm in a position to give at least some relevant advice to somebody thinking about studying abroad. Obviously, somebody else's experience is going to differ wildly from my own, but there's still a sense of reliability between myself and others who have been on this journey. It's always nice to exchange stories, but I think it could be just as nice to exchange tips too. So here are my top five tips to getting the most out of your Study Abroad experience, based on my own.

1. Money. The obvious advice would be to be sensible with your money. Don't blow it all in the first week of having received your loans because "it's cheaper than it would be in the UK" (I used that excuse for many a splurge - it's not wise). Similarly, don't spend it all on food. If your meal plan turns out to be utterly extortionate like mine was, temptation to eat out at restaurants all the time is very very high. It's also quite a bad idea - your money will go down a lot faster than you expect it to. But at the same time, if you've saved up to enjoy this year as you should, don't be afraid to spend it. Which leads me nicely onto...

2. Travel. The best possible use for any spare money is, in my opinion, travelling. There really is nothing quite like a road trip with your friends, and the area I was placed in was the perfect place to grasp these opportunities. I do regret spending money on crap I didn't need, but I don't regret a penny I spent on my various trips throughout the year. Not even the silly amount I spent in 24 hours in Vegas. Not even the drunkenly-bought ticket to Cancún. None of it. Make a bucket list of all the places you want to visit or sights you want to see, and do your damnedest to get it all done.

3. Talk to people. This probably sounds obvious, but more specifically, talk to a variety of people. I could not recommend befriending the other people from your country any more. I found my little group of Brits, and they have become some of my best friends. But don't limit yourself to your immediate group. Talk to the people from the country you're in. Talk to other people studying abroad! I've met a bunch of wonderful people from mainland Europe who will serve as wonderful reasons for future trips. Maybe most importantly, talk to your room mate. I only had a room mate for the first semester, and we never spoke. We just strangely co-existed, and it could get uncomfortable at times. I know I'm not the only one to blame - I put about as much effort into the could-have-been friendship as I got in return, which really wasn't very much at all. But hopefully you will have better luck than I did and if you do, definitely take advantage of it!

4. Say yes. This was something I struggled with sometimes. If my friends went to a party, or somewhere for the day, I didn't always say yes to joining them. I hate blaming things like this on anxiety, but when it comes down to it, I know that was the reason. I wish I'd been able to say yes to some of the things I missed out on. You never know - you could meet a friend for life at a party you decide not to go to. On the other hand, I'm very glad I said yes to all the ridiculous things I actually agreed to. If you're in a position to say yes and put yourself out there, I 100% recommend you do!

5. Promo. If you're on an exchange program, it's likely you'll be asked to talk about your home university at a study abroad fare/talk/event wherever you are. Alternatively, you could do some ground work like I did. After all, you never know who may be interested in studying abroad unless you start the conversation. As it turns out, one of the best friends I made in the U.S. wanted to do a year abroad, and I managed to convince him Swansea was the right place for him. So you never know - maybe you'll end up talking a friend into making one of the best decisions of their life, whilst feeling the benefits of one more year with them yourself. It's a win-win, really!

And that concludes my 5 Study Abroad Commandments. You don't have to listen - I'm not here to tell you how to live your life! Ultimately, you're embarking on this adventure to enrich your academic experience and to have fun. And as long as you do just that, I'll be happy for you!

Filling In The Gaps

So let’s talk about how I’m four weeks away from finals.

How the hell did that happen? How could I possibly be drawing to the end of my first term at UNM? Can we all slow down for five minutes please? I’ve hyped this year up since Year 13 and now you’re telling me it’s nearly half-way over?

This means I have four weeks to whack out two response papers, one essay and two final projects, on top of studying for finals. Well, this should be fun.

But it’s not just the current looming work load that’s making me want to slow time down. It’s also the fact that I’m having a bloody good time here. Even when I’m sat in my room doing nothing, I feel like I’m doing something or achieving something, because I’m doing it 4000 miles from home. This is flawed logic, I am aware. But it’s just because I’m enjoying it.

One monumental weekend of enjoyment I never got around to writing a post about was the Fall Break road trip I went on. I’m annoyed that I never got around to it, but all of the photos are on Facebook so family and friends at home could deduct how much of an INCREDIBLE time I had. But for the sake of writing it down and remembering it, here’s the lo-down of the trip.

A few of us couldn’t leave until late in the day because we had a mid-term that finished at 6:30pm on the day we were leaving. This meant we didn’t arrive at our first stop in Utah until pretty late. Bright and early the next morning, we set off for Monument Valley. Here, I saw some of the coolest natural sights there arguably is to see on Earth. I also obtained the memory of hanging out of a car window with three other people driving around the Valley, sun shining down on us, singing Elton John obnoxiously loudly. I will genuinely (or certainly hope I will) never forget that experience for as long as I live. It’s borderline embarrassing thinking about how cool we felt.

Bryan and Ashleigh feeling a lot cooler than they are

The next stop was the Antelope Canyon in Arizona. Without the tour guide, I’m not sure this sight would have been worth the $40 we paid for it, because without them, we wouldn’t know how to appreciate. It’s essentially a place to take really, really cool photographs, and the guide showed you where and how to take them. It reminded me of the cave in Little Mermaid where she hoards all her human clutter, only this place was clutter-free. From there, we stopped briefly to watch the sun set at the Horseshoe Bend. This sight was delightfully free and slightly overwhelming. We were (very) high up, and it was difficult to tell how far down the water was, let alone how deep it was. The sight itself was so enormous, no camera in our possession really did it justice. Still, we all tried our best.

Horseshoe Bend - maybe the most underrated but brilliant sights of the tip

 The next day, we headed to Zion National Park, Utah. It was beautiful, and what started as us driving through quickly to attempt the hiking trail turned into us stopping so many times along the way to take pictures and admire it, that we didn’t actually have time to hike. We weren’t too disappointed though, because from there, we began the drive to Las Vegas. Poor us.

I say this wholeheartedly: everybody in the world should get the opportunity to experience Vegas at least once. Half of us were under 21, but the group decided to stick together regardless, and we had a brilliant time. Some of the sights to see are incredible. The hotels are stunning. They have this way of making you feel very fancy, but at the same time, remind you of how woefully poor you are. One day, when I’m mysteriously rich, I’m going back and I’m staying at the Mandalay Bay hotel and I’m going to love it. I can hardly complain about the hotel we were at, though, which was Circus Circus. You couldn’t get bored there, that’s for sure. We had to tackle the strip in two halves, experiencing one half in the night with the mania and the lights, and the other in the day. It was no less manic, but everything seemed to make sense, as if we were seeing a behind the scenes of Night Time Las Vegas. We also rode the New York rollercoaster, which was fun, if a little rough (especially with a tiny little hangover).

Leaving Vegas almost a whole day later than planned, we drove to our motel in Flagstaff (two days after the university shooting there – scary stuff, I spoke to a Swansea Uni students there this year, all was okay if a little shaken) ready for the drive to the Grand Canyon the next day. The Grand Canyon was exactly what you’d expect it to be. Really, really, really big. It was so big, it was almost like an optical illusion. You have no idea which layer of rock is the bottom one when looking down. It really was breath-taking.

So all of that, followed by a very long drive back to Albuquerque in a car full of very tired students, concluded my Fall Break trip. At the risk of sounding cheesy, it was nothing less than unforgettable.

Flash forward a few weeks. The only real social event that’s happened since the trip is, of course, Halloween. I’d heard a lot of hype about American Halloween, it’s pretty well known that it’s a much bigger deal here than it is at home. Unfortunately, I didn’t really experience too much of it. I know there were plenty of parties and I’m told I missed some pretty good costumes but for a few reasons including lack of motivation/funds to buy an awesome costume, and me being a socially anxious so-and-so, I decided to stay on campus and spend it with the trusty bunch in my building. I’m slightly bothered by the fact I didn’t pull up my socks and go to a big party, but in honesty, I couldn’t have seen it going well for me.

I also attended my first drag show last night, which was an experience. It was basically a drag lip sync battle, but I rolled with it. It was very entertaining, I’ve got to give them that. It won’t be my last.

Okay, so this post essentially turned into a delayed Fall Break post with a few other things thrown in, but I feel like I needed to fill in the gaps. I can't see me having a great deal to share over the next few weeks other than my Thanksgiving experience - that should get its own post. 

Note to self - don't slack on this thing again. You'll want to read all of this back in a few years.