Students Gone Global

How do you identify a girl studying abroad?

Look at her hands. Tell-tale sign number one is if she has ink all over her skin. You’ll notice that it’s smudged along her palm, her wrist, her fingers. Ask her how she’s doing. Then ask if she’s written home to her family recently. Listen to her voice catch. Watch as her eyes blink too fast when you ask if she misses home. Pretend not to notice when she looks out the airport window and rub her eyes. Leave a pack of tissues when you get up to go to your boarding gate. Don’t say goodbye; she has had enough of goodbyes for now. This is a girl who packs up her goodbyes behind her lips, but she never says them, because she’s afraid that if she says them they will spill out and become her past. So she locks them up tight behind her teeth and smiles. She tells you that she’s blessed to have had this opportunity. Don’t ask her if she wants to come back. Nine times out of ten, she will always tell you yes.

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As he nears the end of his semester abroad, Ryan shares his tips for both study abroad and traveling:

Throughout my time abroad, I’ve been keeping a really rough document on my computer with some tips that I’ve come up with for studying abroad. Some of them seem trivial, but they are things I wish I had considered.

Join school societies - I’ve said this before: making friends was hard. I expected it would be really natural and I would just befriend people in my classes. Well, four months later, I’ve gained few friends in my classes. I’m lucky that there are so many international students in the student village who plan nights out, day trips, etc. But you might not get that lucky. So I would highly encourage you to join a society.

Use your visa/credit card - Use your visa for most of your purchases if your visa includes a reward program. Build up your reward points, as these can often be redeemed for travel miles, encouraging our wanderlust.

Take an easy course load - When I initially found out about my exchange, I had the perfect situation in my mind that I would only have lectures 3 days a week and have awesome 4 day weekends, perfect for travelling. Then I decided to be realistic about it and now I am taking four 3rd year biology/zoology courses. These courses will transfer back to my home university, no problem, and I won’t be behind on graduation. I am glad about this, but I just wish I had spent less of my time here stuck in class, in residence, in the library, etc., and more of my time exploring Scotland. I did get to see a fair bit, just wish I could have seen more. Greedy Ryan.

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Here are some more observations I’ve made on Sweden:

• For some strange reason, while there are two doors to accommodate for people going in and out of a building, only one door is capable of being opened.
• Once it’s warmer out (like now, yay!) it’s quite Swedish to take walks around the lakes in town, or through the forests and just be very nature-y
• Smiling at strangers is frowned upon (pun intended). Growing up in the Midwest, it’s just common to smile at people when you’re walking down the street. When I’ve done it here, they just tend to stare at me like I’m weird…

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Is there anything as exciting about pre-departure as meeting your fellow study abroad peers?

This is possibly the best feeling I’ve ever experienced. Every time I leave a Rotary event with all of the inbounds (exchange students that are here) and outbounds (people going on exchange next year, me!), I am so bittersweet. I forget about my family and get to focus on some new friends from around the world and around the state of Oregon/Washington, who are all a part of District 1500. I adore these people with all of my heart. I have close friends from EVERYWHERE around the globe: Germany, Austria, France, Turkey, Thailand, Japan, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Switzerland, the list goes on…

I leave with a craving of adventure. I leave with a new sense of family. We are a class of people. The inbounds/outbounds of district 1500 2012-2013 are so incredbly close and I honestly couldn’t ask for better friends in my whole life.

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Worrying about funding your study abroad trip? Check out this list of 65 grants and scholarships from Go Overseas

The following tips and resources will serve as a guide for finding study abroad scholarships and grants that will alleviate the expense of studying abroad.

Scholarships & Grants for Study Abroad

In the United States alone, there are thousands of scholarships available to students seeking international education, from national awards funded by the government to smaller-scale awards attached to a particular program or university. Make sure you explore all financial aid options available to whatever specific study abroad program you choose.

Another useful tip is to check with the government of the country where you intend to study for any scholarships they might offer. Contact an embassy, consular office or the country’s department of education. Many countries offer financial support to international students to make study in their country a more attractive and feasible option.

Ask On Campus

One of best, and increasingly underestimated, places to focus your search for financial aid is right on your home campus. Try visiting the financial aid office, study abroad office, and the foreign language departments to inquire about available funding. Search online or ask your study abroad advisor.

There are many different types of scholarships available. Some are based on need, academic merit, or might be limited to foreign language majors or minors. For this reason alone, you may want to consider declaring a primary or secondary major in a language. This might make you eligible for more scholarships, both on and off campus, or a more attractive candidate to receive a scholarship.

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There I was, waiting by the bus stop for the SHAWCO bus to Manenberg. Tuesdays are my long days, 8am-5pm, and finishing the school day by attempting to make 11 and 12 year olds learn math is not exactly relaxing. As per usual, at our specified meeting time, 2pm, I was the only volunteer waiting. After a few more minutes, five others joined me. I joked we were the skeleton crew, but it’s a hollow sort of laughter. When our program started we had closer to 30 volunteers, but as the weeks passed they dwindled and dwindled until now it’s usually just a few of us, rarely more than eight. This week our coordinator, a flustered 3rd year that tends to exacerbate confusion and ruckus when she does show up, isn’t here, but has helpfully left us with a handwritten paper of the day’s activities which includes scrawling notes like “1st graders—animal game. 7th grade—computers.” We’ve worked with low numbers before, but six of us? We debated amongst ourselves what we should do.

Sarah shares some frustrations while volunteering in South Africa. But here’s the thing: “You can’t not show up. You matter. Your energy and enthusiasm matters. It contributes. You contribute to the lives of these kids, and they to yours.”

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