Hey everybody! For those who haven’t read my bio, my name is Isabel and I am about to cross the Atlantic for a semester of environmental studies in Freiburg, Germany. This will be my first time in Freiburg (in all of Europe actually!) and I am incredibly excited to walk the city’s quaint streets, hike in the Black Forest, and experience a culture that values the environment it calls home. Truthfully, that is pretty much all I know about Freiburg, but with the right mindset, I am sure that wherever I go I will find happiness and a home. 

My program’s focus in Politics and Social Justice shines a specific light on human rights and the various violations of them. My favorite class that I’m taking at our IES Abroad Center here in Santiago is called “Human Rights in Latin America,” and focuses on the history of these events. One of our field trips for this class was to Villa Grimaldi, which was a torture site during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music sang it best: “Climb every mountain, / Ford every stream, / Follow every rainbow, / Till you find your dream.” The song “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” was written as an inspirational song to motivate people to pursue their dreams. As I’ve been planning for my semester abroad, I’ve often felt like I’ve been climbing mountains to achieve this goal.

Since I was little, I have dreamed of traveling outside of the U.S. I was always fascinated by other cultures and wanted nothing more than to explore the wonders of the world. I decorated my room to look like Paris and obsessed over Italian food and fashion. However, as an Iowa kid, opportunities for world travel did not grow on trees. Aside from a highly-Americanized week in Mexico, I have never left the U.S. So, this fall, I am diving into the deep end with a semester in London.

Spring of 2022 rolled around and I felt more than prepared. I had done all my research, confiding, doubting. My sights were set on studying abroad in Amsterdam in fall of 2022. In addition, as if my readiness for upcoming deadlines hadn’t bolstered my confidence enough, I’d already realized my passport was due to expire by the end of the year. “Perfect,” I mused. “All I have to do to renew my passport is send all my documents and information to the facility!” It was not even March. If I calculated the shipping and processing time correctly, my passport would arrive in no time.

One thing is for sure when it comes to studying abroad: the actual studying is only half the battle. Before even landing in your host country, taking the time to prepare is incredibly important so that you hit the ground running in the best way. In the time approaching my study abroad experience in Rabat, I’ve noted three key points that have been incredibly helpful with this process. 

Talk to others who have studied abroad!

I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to Chicago, Illinois when I started high school—six years ago now. This is the second time I have moved in my life and is just a bit further, by a little over 4,600 miles. I am super excited, but the buildup was not without its stressors; figuring out which program is right for you, filling out and turning in all of the forms, not knowing who you’re going to be with on your trip, and everything in between.

14 days and 16 hours before I’m in Nice. 

41 items on my Notes app to-do list. 

A combined 102 hours spent in the last 3 months reading “My UNFORGETTABLE Study Abroad Experience” posts on Reddit. 

The anticipation is so real. 

I still remember the day I decided to study abroad.