Studying Abroad: No Time, No Money, and Know Nobody
While I do not have an irrational fear of being abroad and traveling, or even more severe, agoraphobia, I did have many fears about studying abroad. Studying abroad was on my radar until two of my mentors strongly encouraged it. While I do not regret my study abroad experience, I thought it would be helpful to talk about my fears for those that are thinking about studying abroad. I went to Barcelona, Spain for 6 weeks to study Art and Art history.
Fear #1: No Time
When I came to college, I wanted to be a Pediatric Oncologist, too narrowly focused and premed. I went to an academically dominant high school, but I did not accumulate AP science-based classes like the other pre-med students at my undergraduate college. I spent my first 5 semesters of college (freshman fall, winter, spring, summer, and sophomore fall) trying to play catch up. I stayed a spring and summer term because I felt like everyone around me already had science classes they did not have to take because they took AP classes or college courses while in high school. While many people did have that advantage, not everyone was ahead of me and college is not a race. Everyone is trying to figure it out. However, I spent all of this time trying to catch up so I could graduate in 4 years (also not necessary) with my Biomolecular Science major. I ended up switching majors to Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience (BCN). After switching majors, I still felt a pressure of getting back time to fulfill the idea of graduating in 4 years. All of this time playing catch up for one major and then feeling I needed to catch up in another one made me feel like I had no time to study abroad. Especially a study abroad program that would not count towards my major or related heavily on my future career goals.
But there is time.
There is time for what you make time for. I sat down and looked at my requirements for my BCN major and my Community Action and Social Change (CASC) minor and Entrepreneurship minor. I could not do study abroad and complete the major and 2 minors in the time I allotted myself, so I dropped my entrepreneurship minor. I could have done it all if I maxed out my credits for every semester, but I did not want to do that since I worked 1-2 jobs while I am a full-time student. My study abroad was only for 6 weeks in the spring and once I got back, it was business as usual. I took a class, worked in 3 labs, and worked at one of my jobs. There is time if you allocate it. You may need to rearrange and make sacrifices, but if you want to make a way for something, you can.
If you get to a point where you feel there is no time to do it in college, you have a lifetime to prepare to go abroad if it is something you regret not doing in college. While abroad, they would say things like “Go do it (anything specific to Barcelona) because this is the only time you are here.” This is very limiting and I hope that my work in the future allows me to travel back to Barcelona.
Fear #2: No Money
I can hardly afford my rent on campus. How am I supposed to afford a $1,000 plane ticket, tuition, pay the fee to get money out of my bank in another country, be able to feed myself and pay all my bills that will still accumulate in America while I am gone? Does this sound possible? It is, but barely. Being from a family that is low-income, study abroad is not the top priority to move up socioeconomic status: getting through college is. Going abroad just seemed like something extra, so why break the bank just to be extra?
I did receive scholarship money to go abroad. There is money out there, but you do have to put in work to get it. I received 2 scholarships from separate places within my university. I’m on the 3rd page of the CGIS study abroad booklet for the 2017-18 school year. There is a picture of me on the Barcelona beach with a quote about how much receiving a scholarship meant to me. Receiving the scholarship was amazing, but I still struggled financially while abroad. I came back to America with 20 Euros to my name. While there, watching my bank account mount die rapidly, I had to be very cautious about the price of everything. There was no way anyone could transfer me money because nobody has any money. Students in my cohort lost phones and wallets and went to the hospital. If any of that happened to me, I would have been out of luck. Not only would I be out of luck since nobody could send me anything while I was abroad, I also would not be able to get help once I got back to America. I broke my glasses while abroad. I was lucky to find a glasses shop that helped me tape them until I got home. Once I got home, with only 20 Euros to my name, I still could not get new glasses. I came back with less money than I had before I even decided to go, but I did come back with great memories and a new experience that will make it easier for me to travel in the future without as many fears.
Fear #3: Know Nobody
This fear does not really have a resolution. It is just a fact. I did not know anyone in Barcelona or in this part of the world. I felt this way when I came to college as well. I came from a small high school and after coming to college, I was constantly putting myself in situations where I felt alone in a room full of people. This time I felt like it would be like being alone in a country full of people, where I do not speak the language (Catalan/Spanish) well.
Being there I felt alone, but I did not feel alone to the extent I thought I would. I did not form deep connections with the people in my cohort like others did. Even in high school, I never felt that I belonged in a clique. Being alone is okay. Walking around the neighborhood at your own pace is okay. Being with my friends would have made the trip even greater, but taking a break from all of those relationships and having some time to be alone and experience things alone like I did freshman fall term was a great way for me to reflex, take a break, and prepare myself for the next stage of my life. I felt like it was a reset button. It was a time to breathe. You may make lifelong friends abroad. Whatever happens, let it happen naturally.