What a feeling it was to finally return home after the semester of being abroad in Korea and the extended trip I took to Japan following the end of the semester. It was really a great feeling with a bit of bittersweet to it. Basically, a lot of the time since the last post was in Japan so here are a few of the pictures of the yummy food that I had there. (Mostly ramen, but that’s my favorite food!) Aside from that here’s a list of the things that I would have as statements to help anyone in the future who are studying abroad; right after a quick update on final grades.
Final Grades
Just as a final update on the status of my classes, after a worrisome wait of wondering how well I performed in my classes, grades were released and I'm glad to say that I managed to do alright in my eyes. Not knowing your grades for about 2 weeks after finals week is a bit nerve-wracking so if you're in a similar position holding tight and being calm until then is all you can do.
On to the list of things that helped me or that I've learned:
1) Even though it’s an extended period of time to do things and explore, it’s okay to be spontaneous and do things on a whim, but planning makes a world of a difference.
2) Be open-minded to the opportunities and people that you meet. Chances are that you’ll meet people from all over the world, this is a great opportunity to not only learn about the place you’re studying but the diverse group of students that are doing the same as you.
3) There’s a lot of time to be patient and take in a lot of different things. It might be your personality to do everything all at once and do all the things you wanted to do before arriving. However, there is so much more that you didn’t account for or didn’t know that you’ll continuously find new things to learn about or explore. It’s like the saying where it’s good to stop and smell the roses sometimes. For example, something as simple as seeing the season change from Fall to Winter was eye-opening to me as I didn’t even consider this before.
4) Just like anything else in life, there are ups and downs with studying abroad. Maybe you’re a bit homesick, or you didn’t do so well on that quiz, or things just haven’t been going well. Not only is this a great time to try to solve those problems but work on improving and overcoming the challenges that may be unique to studying abroad. For me, it felt like if you can conquer these challenges in a completely different environment than the one you’re accustomed to, it really boosts your ability to overcomes adversity in new challenges I might encounter in the future.
5) Overall, have fun. Everyone has their own interests in terms of what they might enjoy, there might be a specific reason you chose to go to a certain country or there might not be. Since you’re there for only around 4 months, there’s no reason not to make the most of it. Take your interests and try to replicate them there, if not, there are more than likely an infinite amount of possibilities to create experiences that you will find valuable and worthwhile. Like anything else, sometimes you have to open the door to find something behind it.
Thank you for following me along my adventure of studying abroad and if you have any questions for me about my experiences or anything else feel free to reach out to me. I'm very grateful and lucky to have had this opportunity and wouldn't have traded it for anything else.
Until next time.. :)