The Study in Study Abroad

One of the perks of studying in Europe is travelling around to places you've only either read about, seen pictures of, or heard about on tv. For instance, Ryanair has cheap flights to different parts of the continent. I mean whoever thought a round trip (or as they like to say here return trip) ticket to Scotland would only cost $50? Also, roundtrip bus to Cork cost me 2 euros (~$3). Amazing. However, a person must remember that studying must occur since it is STUDY Abroad and not Travel Abroad.

Unfortunately for me, I will admit that the studying part of study abroad has not been occurring as much as I would like. I would like to blame it the unusually long break I had from school (about 1 1/2 months) for making me unmotivated. Maybe I can even blame it on senioritis (I am a 4th year after all) but there shouldn't be any excuses. I did not come here just to frolic under the cloudy (yet sometimes sunny) sky of Ireland (and Europe) for 4 months. I came here to learn and learn I must.

I'm not going to lie. It is hard to study while you're in another country.  Because of this, I advise someone who wants to study abroad to have good time management and organization skills. You must schedule your time accordingly, especially if you want to travel on the weekends.

• Outline assignment due dates so you know when to get things done. My technique has been to have bright Post-It notes around my table with checklists for my projects, papers, and readings with the deadlines highlighted. My planner is also color coded and deadlines written in Red.

Procrastination should be avoided but it can happen. When it does, lock yourself up in a room or the library with only the necessities you need to complete your project. That's for extreme cases but in all seriousness, you paid a lot of money to come here. Think of it this way, you paid to come to school in another country. If you fail your courses, you basically threw away your money and will have to pay more to earn the credit  back home (and the courses might not be as exciting as the ones you take abroad). 

It's hard to do work when living in another country since all you want to do is explore. I have to constantly remind myself that these grades count for my GPA back home. I would kick myself if I lost the chance of getting Latin Honors because I did poorly abroad.

• Avoid going out all the time. Set certain days for homework. Don't treat this time as a vacation.
• Change your view of the new country as a vacation place. Instead view it as your new home for the X number of months. For instance, when I moved from El Monte to UCLA for school, I didn't go out to explore UCLA or the surrounding cities every single day. (FYI, I never really been on the Westside until going to college). 

Amy asked me how I study and travel at the same time. This is what I do.

• Weekends: I usually go out Saturday to explore and spend Sunday doing homework and relaxing. For weekends where I know I'm going to travel to another country, I chose weekends where I don't have any big projects due the upcoming week. 

But really, who am I to tell people how to study? Those closest to me know that I procrastinate and sometimes wait until the last minute to do things. But learn from my experience.  Waiting until the last minute to do homework will just put a drain on your body. You might even get sick and what fun would that be if you get so sick your weekend trip to Paris isn't enjoyable since you'll be coughing out a lung.

Bottom line: 

• Organize a schedule and plan your time wisely. 
• Make travel trips a reward for doing your schoolwork.   
• Don't lose the good study habits you develop back home just because you're in a new country.
• Study Abroad not Vacation Abroad
• Have study sessions with the new people you meet, remember they're in school as well so not everyone will be jetting off to a new place every day

If worse comes to worse, I remember my friends telling me "FEAR OF FAILURE" and my brain gets motivated to work.