The Rinker Center for International Programs has information for Ball State students wanting to study abroad.
Going abroad can be one of the most rewarding experiences in college. According to the Institute of International Education, one in 10 students will study abroad as an undergraduate.
Richard Davie runs TEFL Iberia, a modern English teacher training school in Barcelona, Spain. Here are some tips he and other students offer for those studying abroad for an extended period of time.
There are lots of benefits to studying abroad, so do it if you can.
“You'll have an adventure, boost your confidence, improve your language skills, it will make you more resourceful, make you more employable in the future, you'll make friends all over the world, you'll get an insight into a culture different from yours, etc," Davie wrote in an email.
"Don't lose your wits about you. Having confidence in yourself is extremely important when you are abroad, because you need to be able to trust yourself. And more than likely, you'll gain a lot of confidence in yourself from the experience," said Marco Leon, a junior speech pathology major who studied in France.
If you want to teach English, do a course or program in the city you want to work in.
“If you want to work in Barcelona, go with a program there. They'll have the most immediate contact with the local job market and will be able to give you specific advice about where to go, what to do, etc.,” Davie said.
Finding a graduate job abroad is possible, but trickier.
“You'll have to go through several interview stages, probably via Skype,” Davie said. “Regardless of what you do, it's much easier to find a job if you're actually in that country rather than trying to secure one before you leave home. There's always a risk, but that's part of the adventure. If you go with enough money to survive for 2-3 months and are proactive, you should definitely find something.”
Challenges include culture clashes and getting used to different expectations and a different rhythm of life.
“Specifically in Spain, the Spanish are very direct in the way they talk, so to the foreign ear it can sound rude or aggressive, but it's just how they talk and is perfectly acceptable,” Davie said. “It took me a long time not to be offended at the way they spoke. Customer service is nonexistent here too, so any interaction with shopkeepers, waiters, etc. can be difficult at first. Trying to get things done can be tricky, especially paying taxes, dealing with bureaucracy, any sort of official administration, etc., as there is no sense of urgency and you just have to accept that it'll get done when it gets done.”
"Learn the public transit systems. These will be incredibly valuable to you, so make sure you know them backwards and forwards," Leon said.
“Have an open mind," said Becky Cooper, a sophomore business major who is studying in Austria. "It sounds incredibly cheesy, but if you look at every cultural difference as weird or stupid instead of just accepting it, it makes life a lot harder. Not everything different is bad, sometimes it's just different. So have an open mind and be willing to accept things that come your way instead of shutting them down as something weird or dumb. I know that that made the transition a lot harder for many of the Americans in my program. ... They wanted to try to live in Salzburg with their American lifestyle and it just isn't possible, and you're not getting everything you can out of it by trying to do that.”
More generally, home/family/holiday visits can be expensive if you are very far away.
“It's also very easy to make friends, but sometimes people living abroad lead a very transient life, so you can be best friends with someone but for one reason or another, they move away and it can be hard to deal with people coming and going from your life,” Davie said. “The upside is that you end up with friends all over the world and a place to sleep if you ever visit, but you also miss these people that you are/were close with.”
If you’re going somewhere where you don’t speak the language, don’t let it get to you.
“Personally, for me it really motivated me to learn Spanish, as I hated not being able to talk/communicate properly and feeling silly with basic interactions,” Davie said. “Simple things can take a while to get used to, such as figuring out where everything is, where to buy things, how to get registered with a doctor, etc. Basically finding your feet in a new city and country can be a challenge, but if you have a good attitude, open mind and take it all in your stride, you'll settle quickly without too much friction.”
“Don’t be afraid to try new things and to speak the language. The point is to learn new things and a new culture. If you don’t go out to experience new things and meet new people, then you won’t learn anything,” said Alexis Palmer, a senior Japanese major who studied in Japan.
"If you know a bit of the language already and are planning to speak it wherever you go, practice," Leon said. "The locals will probably do their best to understand you and help you, but there's nothing really more disheartening than trying to speak to them in their native language and having them reply in English."
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