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Sunday, June 26, 2016

Balancing My Studies While Abroad

Introduction

Today approximately 800 American companies have a facility overseas, with even more companies looking to expand in the global markets. In 2015, over 300,000 students from the US studied abroad; however, universities around the country are encouraging more to join. The world today is growing into a global society through better means of communication and travel. With the focus on globalization and the world market, students should consider traveling to a new country to discover new cultures, experience intercultural communication and relations, and develop insight into how other countries function. But how do students balance experiencing the country/culture with their studies when they are abroad for short periods of time?

My Experience

As a two time short-term study abroad, I’ve experienced this issue of balancing my schoolwork and exploring the culture and new traditions around me. Both trips I took the “sleep when you’re in the US” route to make sure I milked every second of my time abroad. Although I enjoyed my time tremendously, learned by doing/experiencing the culture, and still did well in my classes, it also caught up to me after a while. After about 2 weeks of depriving myself of a goodnights sleep, my body began to shut down. After doing this twice, I learned there are some other methods that are a bit healthier for your body, but still give you just as much time to explore abroad.

Advice

To gain the most out of your study abroad and still do well in your classes I would suggest:
  • Print out your reading assignments or store your assignments in your phone. It’s amazing the time you have on transportation, in a park, or at a cafĂ© to do your homework, you just have to make sure you have the materials to do your work



  • Designate a timeframe each day that you will do your homework, but be flexible with when that timeframe happens. I usually chose to spend my time after dinner doing homework; however, on days where there were events at night, I would eat lunch at home and do my homework until the event. This allowed me to get my work done, but still explore the things I wanted to see.
  • Pay attention in class. Most of what you are tested on is material that is covered IN CLASS. You have to be in class everyday anyways, so there’s no point trying to cram what you didn’t pay attention to in class, outside of the classroom. Doing that wastes time you could have spent experiencing a new aspect of the culture.

Conclusion

Overall, I would highly encourage every student to participate in a study abroad program. Do not discount these opportunities because you have to do homework or go to class while abroad. There are plenty of ways to get your work done and still have more than enough time to see and experience the country you are studying in.

References


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