Why You Should Study Abroad

Hanging out near the bridges – St. Petersburg, Russia

Let me start with some anecdotal evidence as to why you should study abroad.

The summer after my sophomore year of college I studied abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia. To be candid, it wasn’t something that I was ever really planning on. In fact, it was more of a fall back plan if anything. A back up to my back up. What I wanted to do was get a finance internship.

Scratch that.

What I thought I should do was get a finance internship. You know, prepare myself for the future. Get some experience on my resume. At the very least, wear the new suit and tie I had just bought.

That was my mistake.

My goal was to get experience for my resume, when I should have been thinking about getting experience for my life. Luckily things worked out. No one hired me. I can’t blame them, I know zilch about finance and I knew even less then. In fact, when I left those interviews even my interviewers knew less about finance.

So I prepared for my 8 week study abroad program.

I had traveled before. A few years earlier Vicky and I went around Italy by ourselves. But this wasn’t traveling, it was living abroad. I was going to be with a host family who didn’t speak English. I was going to be navigating through a foreign city daily. I was miles out of my comfort zone and I wasn’t going back for 2 months.

And Russia is no picnic.

It’s known for its unfriendly people, its antisemitism, its violence. Sorry, I don’t mean to pick on Russia, I’m just saying it’s not the easiest place to study abroad in. In fact, in my time there I was stopped by the police on 4 separate occasions based on profiling alone.

But it was an amazing experience nonetheless. I made friends, Russian friends, some of which I still talk to to this day. I bridged gaps, broke down barriers – culture, language, you name it. I was a barrier breaker. I learned what it was like to be alone, like, really alone. It’s a different feeling walking around a foreign city alone, a colder feeling, but it was a fantastic period of personal growth and I can’t recommend it highly enough. If I had known more I would have done it during the semester.

I know what you’re probably thinking.

What about all the fun events, nights out, insert fun activity here that I’ll be missing out on? What about my friends?

All I can say is, opportunities to hang out with friends are many. Opportunities to study abroad during college are literally once in a life time. Given the choice, what seems like it should receive more consideration? If you’re still on the fence, do what I did, do it during the summer.

As a result of that summer I was motivated to work in Moscow the following year. Now I’m going to be traveling the world. Do we really think these events are unrelated? I’m looking forward to the time when I can say, as a result of the time I spent traveling the world I’m doing X. I don’t know what X is, but if the current trend continues, it’s going to be good.

So kids, study abroad. Parents, encourage your kids to study abroad.

Source: www.transitionsabroad.com: The Benefits of Study Abroad