Just like that, my time in Nice has come to an end. As I settle back into American life, I can’t help but reminisce on my favorite memories from France. It was truly an adventure of a lifetime, and I’m so grateful that I lived it. My cultural awareness improved exponentially, I met amazing friends, and most importantly, I stepped outside of my comfort zone. 

I am exactly a week away from the commencement of my first study abroad experience and have already learned several lessons in preparation. While there are many things that you should try to do, there are also things you should try to not do, so in this post, I will share some of what I could have done better when getting ready to study abroad.

Being human means having preconceived notions and ideas, it’s simply a part of life. This means that stereotypes and clichés are a real part of traveling and experiencing new cultures.

Before I began my study abroad program in Rome, I had the privilege of visiting some new countries in Europe and learning more about what makes each country unique and special.

As my time studying with IES Abroad has ended, I felt that I could shed light on my experience for others who plan to study abroad in the future. I wish someone had given me advice prior, so I thought I would in order to better equip others for their study abroad experiences. For context, I studied abroad in Rome, Italy during the spring of 2022.

After spending four months in Italy, it felt heart wrenching leaving a whole new life behind. On my first day in Rome, I went with a group to throw a penny into the Trevi Fountain. I had no idea how to get back to my school from there, let alone my apartment. I remember having to figure out public transit with my now friend Eleanor because we both had no idea how to get home. As my program developed, I gained a real sense of comfort from the environment I surrounded myself with.

If you walk down the streets of Paris, you’ll notice the endless supply of street cafés and bakeries.  If you’re visiting for a week, it makes sense to go to several of these places every day to eat and drink coffee or tea.  However, if you’re staying for an entire summer and living in an apartment, going out all the time is inconvenient. That’s where going grocery shopping comes in.

In less than 24 hours, I'll be in a new country, thousands of miles from everything I've ever known.

In four short days, I’ll be lugging a heavy suitcase through the Seattle-Tacoma airport, kissing it goodbye at the terminal, hoping I’ll see it again in Dublin, and then parking my sweet keister in economy for ten hours as another human being I’ve never met defies God and transports me across the world in a giant metal tube. 

Every time I remember that soon enough I’ll be on my way to Ireland, soon enough I’ll be in Ireland, my heart seizes a little and I feel like I might puke. 

Now that I am close to leaving Granada, I’ve begun to reflect a lot about my time spent here. I’ve realized, as has everyone on the programme, just how different it would have been if I had chosen another housing option. I chose to stay with a host family, and have been super happy with that choice. But, there’s no doubt that my entire experience would have been different if I had chosen a residence hall; and different still depending on what hall I was placed in.

May 26th. There is less than a day left before departure. Only fifteen hours left to be exact. I stared at the mess I needed to sort out on the floor of my dorm, and the half way packed suitcase, not wanting to continue packing, and not knowing how I should feel about the upcoming two months of foreign sojourn. Excitement and confusion, anticipation and fear?