Have you ever thought about going abroad, but then thought about all the stuff you would have to organize and money you will spend and ended up giving up that dream? And now you just can’t get the idea out of your head? Me too.
Let’s be honest, there is so much to organize and think about.
First of all, where to go? Like there are so many places worth seeing but you can choose a maximum of two countries for your year abroad. Second, when to go? You might not even struggle to choose the countries but to choose when you want to go, as it can be determined by a number of things including your own schedule and the season of your destination. And then there are ticket prices you have to consider, when you decide how and when you want to travel.
So, there is an overwhelming number of things to think about.
Choose destination
There are so many countries but once you decided to go abroad you might already have an idea where you want to go. So, get more information about your desired destination, including universities, living costs and accommodations. If you are struggling to decide between two cities/ countries make a pro and con list for each of them and consider the languages and sozio-economic situation of the countries. Maybe you had the language of your desired destination in school and you would still understand conversations overall, so you could further improve your skills.
Determine the timespan
If you’re studying at a university but you want to go abroad. Without repeating the year, you missed all after coming back home, you should compare the curricula of both universities. You should also check the semester schedules, as in some countries school and universities start at another season, e.g. in Australia where they start in January or in Japan, it’s April.
Start planning
There are a lot of travel agencies and student exchange programs all around the world. If you’re already overwhelmed with all the planning and organizing, you might want consider applying for one of those as they can help you and will make sure that you won’t miss deadlines and forget about anything.
My experience
When I was planning my semester abroad, I applied for a lot of agencies until I found my perfect fit. They helped me choosing my school, applying for my visa, booking my flight and organized a great host family for me. I planned my whole journey in just four months during school and if I haven’t had a to-do list, I would have been lost as there was so much to think about, besides my everyday duties as a student. But at the same time, I was so excited to finally get my dreams about going abroad coming true. And I would have been lost without support, from my mum and my best friend. Still, once I was there it was totally worth the stress.
Go, embrace your wanderlust!
So, once you have completed your to-do list, which will take a while but it will bring you a whole lot closer to your journey, pack your stuff but not too much as there will be shops anyway, say goodbye to your loved ones and be ready to discover a new country and maybe even a new version of yourself. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime-experience and will definitely embrace your wanderlust.
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