Studying Abroad

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Going and living in a complete new country broaden my vision of the world. On my first day in America, not only did I meet local students, but international students as well. There were students from China, Ukraine, Canada, Korea, and so on. On the same day we were introduced, we decided to watch a movie so that we could get to know each other better. However, after having watched the first ten minutes of the movie, we started talking about our countries, our different traditions and beliefs. Getting to know all those cultural differences was mind-blowing and being exposed to all of them made me more open-minded. By the end of the academic exchange, I am pretty sure that every single one of us had become more understanding with each other countries and were amazed with our differences.

Studying abroad also help me to boost my self-confidence. I was living in an English speaking country and it helped develop my skills. I had to take 4 classes in English and we had assignments every single week, but that was okay with it. I knew that with all of that my English Skills would get better, and they did, and it felt good. Almost at the end of the semester, I also had presentations and being in front of a whole English speaking class, which help me a lot with my communication skills. During the first presentation, I was really nervous, but my professors’ reassuring words, I could successfully finish all of them.

One of the most important things that happened to me during this time abroad was that I started to appreciate family and friends even more than I did before. We, as a family, used to eat together every single Sunday, so I missed that. Once, I was eating alone on a Sunday since my roommate was working and I saw students and their parents. That made me a little bit homesick, but then I called my mom and it was very reassuring. When it comes to my friends, by being abroad, I realized who my real friends were and how important they were to me. My best friend and I did not talk every day, she was always checking on me, which made me feel happy. Besides, on my birthday, most of my friend sent me a lot of beautiful wishes that made me realized how blessed I was to have such a great people in my life.

As a final point, I can say that spending a semester abroad had a huge impact on me since I expanded my knowledge, improved my confidence level and understood that family and friends are a crucial part in my life. Traveling is an enriching experience that everyone should have the opportunity to do. When you travel, your whole life changes, and you get a very different and realistic perspective of the world. “The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” (Johnson,140).