Learn How To Have A Wonderful Study Abroad Experience
It is a wonderful experience for first-gen students to spend the summer abroad in high school. However, life can be quite shocking despite it being an eye-opening experience. Perhaps your parents never spent the summer abroad. You are likely to have little knowledge about this whole experience. Well, there are things you can do to adjust to the new environment easily. Here are a few ideas to prepare you for what to expect during summer study abroad for high school students. Embrace the new experience
However, you have to keep on making strategic decisions that will help you make the most of your experience. You should take advantage of living in a new country as a first-timer ready to accept challenges and learning from your mistakes. Spend time with local peers to give you first-hand experience about what it means to survive in such a situation. This will change your perspective about certain things in life and how to survive in diverse environments.
Blend with the locals
Most students who take on high school summer travel abroad programs live with host families. The best way for you to blend in is to get out of your comfort zone by feeling comfortable practicing the local language with your host family. Take time to mingle with local students and other exchange students from other parts of the world. This allows building relationships and connections with other people through understanding their culture.
Live on a budget
It is very important to be financially responsible during your stay abroad. This requires monitoring your daily spending, activities, and nightlife. Always keep some money for emergencies and always stick to your budget. Always be cautious on how much you spend and nev3er be afraid to negotiate while purchasing items. Some locals have a habit of charging foreigners double the price. Negotiating before buying anything will save you a significant amount that you can use for other purposes.
Know what you can afford
You are likely to find a lot of things fascinating in the new country. However, it doesn’t mean that you have to purchase everything. You have already noticed why you need to live on a budget. Therefore, know what you can afford and what you can’t. You might want to buy all your friends and family members souvenirs but this might eat into your budget. Additionally, don’t force yourself to go out every weekend just because other exchange students do it.
Build your network
Summer study abroad is a wonderful moment to build family abroad while learning from other students. There are various differences among exchange students from multiple countries. Ensure to build a network all over the world. Additionally, you should make lifelong friends with locals and other international students to build a global network. These new friends will help you practice and learn nuances of the local language and to give you a better understanding of foreign culture.
Learn new skills
Apart from practicing the local language and culture, use this experience to learn new skills. It is obvious that many things are done differently here. You can take up an internship or a volunteering position to learn new skills. Helping out locals in the community will give you a better understanding of people survive in different situations. Additionally, volunteering helps you to contribute towards improving the lives of the people in the community.
Don’t let homesickness break you
It is okay to get homesick when living in a new country. However, this is for only a short period and you will be back in the community you have been used to. However, life in the new environment can be fun and fulfilling when you manage to avoid homesickness break you. Living in a new country allows improving new language skills, discovering a new culture, meeting amazing new people, and seeing things you have been reading about in books in real life.
Wrapping up
There is a lot high students benefit from studying abroad for the summer. It comes with a chance to improve your new language skills, discover a new culture, meet new amazing people, and learn to become independent. All this is possible if you can learn the best way to make the most of summer abroad experience. This requires embracing the new experience, blending with the local community, living on a budget, building new networks, and learning new skills.
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