I have been lucky enough to share the
last 10 days with my friend Maria. She is currently studying business
at University of Cincinatti in Ohio, but she is originally from
Linz, Austria. She, like me, decided to study abroad in a foreign country
not just because it looks good on a resume, but for the experience.
Maria is smart, easygoing, curious, up for anything, and gives great
advice. We've had some pretty great life talks together. A few days
ago we started talking about what changes to expect abroad; customs,
schoolwork, boys, etc. We then got on the deeper topic of how I would
change abroad. Maria told me about how different she is since
she left Austria, and how much she has grown, and learned about
herself in her first 5 months here. She then proposed a task. She told me to think
of three words/ideas that describe me right now, before I leave.
Examples: Am I an introvert or an extrovert? How easygoing am I? What
is my role in a group? How do I deal with disagreements, or other
difficult situations? What are some things I would like to change
about my personality? Then, she explained that I should reflect on
them halfway through my time abroad and again after I return. If
I have learned anything from my last 3 years with Ramble Outdoors
it's the importance of reflection. I plan on giving Maria's task some
serious though over the next few days, and maybe post about it?
Other advice from Maria to keep in
mind:
Don't feel homesick or lonely because
even if you don't talk to someone for a while it doesn't mean they
aren't thinking about you.
Travel as much as possible.
Try everything.
