Q: Initially, what made you decide to study abroad? Why did you choose your program?
A: I wanted to study abroad to see what living in another country would be like. From the research I had done, I determined a list of countries that I think I would like to live in based on the things I value such as walkability, weather, etc. Based on that list, I found out what programs would be offered during the summer since that is the only term that worked for my academic plans. I narrowed it down to this program based on all those factors..
Q: What was the highlight of your study abroad experience?
A: The highlight was the weekend trips I was able to go on to other countries in Europe with the friends I had made during the program.
Q: What was your greatest challenge abroad and how did you overcome it?
A: I don't actually feel like I had many challenges when abroad. My biggest concern going into it was that I would feel really lonely during the weeks I was there but that concern was pretty quickly addressed when I saw just how much everyone wanted to get along and be friends. It was just a lot easier to make friends than I had expected.
Q: How did your coursework abroad compare to your courses at UC Merced?
A: I took a social psychology course and a positive psychology course. The social psychology course was fairly similar to what you might expect at UCM considering that the professor was from a US university. However, the Positive Psychology course was taught by a professor who lives in Europe and is used to their systems. That means that it was ran very differently than anything I am used to here.
Q: What did you gain from your study abroad experience?
A: Studying abroad has been and will be the highlight of my college experience based on all the things I was able to do and see. It made me have an appreciation for a lot of different things.
Q: What advice do you have for students considering study abroad?
A: My advice is to definitely study abroad and to research the program you are looking into. Just be prepared for the weather, the culture, and so on. If you do all of what UCEAP provides then you should be prepared and it will be no problem.
Q: Describe a typical day abroad.
A: A typical day would include waking up and walking to class which was really nice because the weather in Maastricht was amazing. I would get lunch at a local restaurant close to my class with some classmates. Afterward, I would head back to my dorm and do any work that I might have assigned. Afterward, I would meet up with my friends and we would go out for a variety of different activities.
Q: If you could go anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you go and why?
A: I would want to go to Australia or New Zealand. Those 2 countries were on my list of places to consider to study abroad but there were no good programs for my summer term so going and living there would be really interesting.
