Q: Initially, what made you decide to study abroad? Why did you choose your program?
A: I always knew I wanted to study abroad from the moment I found out it was and actual thing. As to the program I chose, I wanted to narrow the options with logic and decided to go to English speaking countries in order to reduce stress. From there I went with the program that best suited my major.
Q: What was the highlight of your study abroad experience?
A: The highlights would have to be the adventures I was able to go on out side the city. I didn't get to go on as many as I wanted, but that makes the ones I did matter more.
Q: What was your greatest challenge abroad and how did you overcome it?
A: My greatest challenge was probably finding myself with a sinus infection for a month, however that was mostly a case of waiting it out. The second greatest was trying to get over my anxiety and buy the plane ticket to go. The way I got over that was by taking advantage of my fear of the ever increasing cost and bulldozing through getting my plan ticket.
Q: How did your coursework abroad compare to your courses at UC Merced?
A: For the majority of my classes, the course work was mostly the same. The concepts behind one of the courses however, did go over my head at times- I probably should have gone for a lower level class in that topic.
Q: What did you gain from your study abroad experience?
A: A greater sense of independence, relief at having finally gone, and an increased capacity to the diversity inherent in a multi-nation reality, are all things I felt I gain through this experience.
Q: What advice do you have for students considering study abroad?
A: If you can literally and mentally afford to go then do. On the other-side, when you do chose to go don't be afraid of going to a random place with people you are not yet completely familiar with, that way you can push your comfort zone and make new friends.
Q: Describe a typical day for you abroad.
A: For me a typical day started with breakfast followed by the long walk to my morning classes. Once I got to my classes I would of course take them, perhaps study in between them. Then I would get on the school's shuttle bus to either go to the central campus stay and eat and study till my 4:30 class, go to the National museum, get groceries, take an exploratory walk, or go back home and eat before taking the much shorter walk back to that part of the campus. That would be followed by going back home and making and eating dinner , getting ready for bed. Possible some late night studying would ensue depending on what I had to do the next day.
