Studying Abroad

So something I've wanted to write about on this blog for a long time is studying abroad. You've probably seen the occasional references to my time in America but I'm not sure I ever explicitly said that I was in America for my second university. 

That's me, bottom left crouching down. Shout out to Theta Alpha Phi's pledge class of 2012!! WOOPWOOP! Much love to my Big Ellie and my GodBig Bailey <3 

And you know what? I had an absolutely WONDERFUL time! It's been just over 2 years since I returned and ever since I have I've been craving, CRAVING to go back and see all my lovely friends there. 

Granted, there were some problems with my exchange so here is my guide for anyone wanting to study abroad at a university: 

•  Go through an exchange programme with your home university- ideally having a departmental link to your home university's department(s) as this will help you sort out any enrollment issues you have much faster
• Make sure you don't leave getting your visa til the last minute! Due to some admin issues I didn't manage to get the letter that allowed me to get my study visa until about a week before it was time for me to fly out. This meant I got the very last appointment at the embassy for that month and it was on he same day I was supposed to be going on holiday with my family! So I had to get the train down to London to the embassy with the scary American police who had guns and had to search us on the way in and then there was a problem with me taking an epipen in because it could be used as a weapon. Then I spent 2 hours in a sweltering hot room waiting for my number to be called. Then I had an interview which I was disproportionately stressed over given that I already knew what they were going to ask me. Then from there I had to get a train to Penzance where my family came and picked me up. It was exhausting! Moral of the story: get stuff done on time! In lots of advance!
• If possible, speak to a person who has done the same exchange you're going on  and find out if they can hook you up with some contacts to help you transition into foreign university life. Also a good way to put you in touch with some new friends. Or talk to some of the students there before coming over so you know what to expect
• Prepare for the possibility that your university's study abroad officer has no idea what they're doing. Sadly for me I found myself in a whole bunch of trouble regarding timetables and tuition fees when I arrived because British student loan only came in at the end of September but my term at BGSU started a week or two into August. I thought I was going to be sent home! Luckily I was able to square everything with the various heads of department and the university bursar. It was a computer threatening to throw me out of my building, not an actual human being. Nevertheless, it was intensely stressful. 

• Do a little bit of research about where you're going- you don't want to end up at a coastal univesity and you're all packed for spending time in the arctic tundra. It helps with the packing ;) 
• Make the most of other people from your university who are going on the exchange at the same time as you. They can be a great comfort just to talk to about home- in my case Aberystwyth. Also, if you get to live in an international student community (I lived in Global Village) definitely do it! You get to meet all sorts of cool people that you might not meet otherwise! 
• It gives you a great opportunity to grow as a person and find out more about yourself. I had a lot of preconceived ideas about America, most of which were based on stereotypes, television and the occasional American person I had met. You don't get opportunities like this every day! So if you're thinking about doing it, don't just think about it, do it! go go go!! You won't regret it, I promise!! 
• It looks really good on a CV/Resume too as it shows you have experience of launching yourself into something new and challenging, completely off your own back and through your own organisation. 

Many thanks to Laura for helping me put together this list! Laura went on the same exchange to BGSU as I did but went the year after I graduated. 

In other news, I had my last appointment with my paediatric immunology consultant today. I gave him a card with giraffes on. He seemed very pleased. He'd been my consultant for over 10 years! The end of an era! Many of that clinic's patients' parents are younger than me, so I'm always entertained by the confused look the nurses there give me upon seeing a 22 year old in a paediatric clinic.

Today, this is me, waiting for the first train of a very busy day:

And here I am again, getting out of the train station after taking my friend Bernadette to make sure she got the train home safely because I'm a good friend. What an exhausting day! And I still can't go to sleep yet! Just gotta take some notes and drink some more peppermint tea.

See you tomorrow, Splodgies! 

-Rosa

x