Saturday, August 15, 2009

Tips for Study Abroad

Tips for Study Abroad

Here are any tips for those who want to study abroad:
1. Read Up. Read up about your study abroad destination. Try and read the local newspaper and familiarize yourself with the general state of affairs in the country and city you will be visiting. Not only will you be able to converse with the locals better, enhance your own experience with insight into the cultural quirks of your country, but you will be more in the know compared to your other study abroad participants.
2. Travel. Investigate opportunities for cheap travel within your region.
3. Student Discounts. Take advantage of student discounts if they are available in your study abroad country. Depending on the country you study in, student discounts can save you money at museums, tourist attractions, transportation, shopping outlets, and even the movie theater.
4. Communication Abroad. For calling your friends and family in the United States, as well as others with an internet connection, VOIP options, including Skype and Vonage may be a great, cost effective option for you.
5. Food and diet. Most countries have either their own version of some American foods, or nothing at all. You may not realize until you are already abroad, but you will come up with food items you CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT and that you cannot find anywhere abroad.
6. Money. One thing you will notice after your first month of living abroad are the foreign transaction fees your credit card company charges on all purchases made in another currency as well as the transaction charge for most ATM withdrawals.
7. Do Something Different. However, I encourage you to do something out of your comfort zone, whether it is studying in the local language, living in a homestay with a local family, joining a local club or sports team, volunteering or finding an internship locally, or simply getting off the beaten path when you travel.
8. If you Play a Sport, Get Involved. Although most Americans associate college sports with intense practice and competition schedules, the rest of the world does not think of college sports in that way. At most colleges, there are sports clubs and teams with more casual practice and competition schedules.
9. Act Like a Local. Take behavioral cues from locals, especially in regards to dressing more conservatively in churches and the local tolerance for public drinking.
10. Take Pictures. Studying abroad will provide memories that will last a lifetime, make sure you capture these moments to share with friends and family as well as to reminisce in later years. Using photo sharing websites like flickr.com, may help you organize your photos, without taking up a lot of space on your hard drive.

Read Also:
* Good study skill

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