After program opportunities
After I finished my program with IES, I was given the opportunity to be an ambassador with the institution. With this opportunity, I am able to connect with future students who want to study abroad in the same location as I did. I was so happy to take this position as I love connecting with other students and sharing my experiences. This is not a paid position, but it does look great on resumes and it’s also a way to stay connected with my time studying abroad. Being so far away from the friends I made during the semester means no one at home will understand the time I spent away, but getting to share it with people who are looking forward to studying abroad is second best!
As for SIT, I made a number of connections with important people in my field of study who will be good contacts for me in the future. The most important part of my semester with SIT was writing my independent study project, which was focused on the emerging power of the African Union in a multipolar world. Thanks to the structure of this program, we had to interview at least three experts related to our research. Due to thi,s I had the opportunity to interview an expert in international negotiations who works with the United Nations, an expert in global south relations and development, and finally a former vice president of the African country of Burundi. These interviews opened doors for me and could potentially be contacts for me in my future career.
Keeping in touch
I am still in Switzerland, so obviously I can still see my friends from here, but I can speak on what it’s like to try and keep in touch with my friends from my first semester. I think this is a really important part of being back at home. If you don’t put in the effort to stay in contact with your friends, then it’s really hard to stay friends, even though you all went through the same experiences for 4 months. For my friends and I, we all text each other at least once a week, even if it’s about something stupid. One of my friends texted our group chat to ask our opinion about what dress she should wear for graduation. Sometimes, we’ll even send video updates about drama going on in our lives. Other times, it’s not anything crazy, but just a text saying how much we miss each other. For me, keeping up these relationships is really important, and we are planning to meet up sometime this summer!
Things I learned
After spending roughly 8 months abroad, there are a few things I learned that I don’t think a lot of people think about. For one, ALWAYS bring a little hand sanitizer with you. You never know when the sink on a train might not work great, or you don’t have access to somewhere to clean your hands before eating lunch after getting your hands dirty.
Another thing I learned is to do even the tiniest bit of research before traveling somewhere. For example, when I went to Vienna, Austria, I wanted to see the castle and its gardens, so I bought a ticket for both of those things. Turns out, you really only need to buy (the much cheaper) ticket to go inside the castle, as most of the gardens are free to enter. The garden ticket I bought was for certain sections of the garden, but those sections didn’t even open until hours after I needed to leave to get to another booking I had made. In the same way, don’t book the first flight you see. Look into a couple of different airlines and maybe even some layover flights, which sometimes are long enough for you to see another country before going to your final destination.
Finally, I learned to just take a deep breath. Sometimes studying abroad can be hard or stressful. You will get homesick or get stressed about something, and it will be hard to have a good time. I learned to just take a step back, take a deep breath, and remember that study abroad is the opportunity of a lifetime, but that it’s ok to feel what I am feeling. Taking time for yourself when you feel this way is so important, but remember that there are people around you who probably feel the same way. So, take a deep breath, talk to someone if you want, and then take advantage of every second of your time in such a special place.
This is my last post ever, but thank you so much to everyone who read my blog during my semester!
Merci et, comme d’habitude, profiter bien!
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