Study abroad was definitely one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. To all of my blog readers, thanks for following me this semester! And for any of you studying abroad in the future, I’ve combined a list of my general study abroad & Sevilla-specific study abroad advice:
GENERAL ADVICE
– Try everything! The food, new experiences, etc. Your going to be out of your comfort zone no matter what, so you might as well take full advantage of the experience.
– You can’t try to plan everything. I was definitely the over-prepared study abroad student, but once I arrived in Sevilla I found so many more trips and activities I wanted to plan than I could have anticipated. I’m glad I did some research ahead of time to find my rowing club and not show up completely disoriented, but so many new opportunities presented themselves once I got to Spain.
– Take advantage of international travel, but don’t go too crazy. I loved that we traveled on trips around Spain with the MCP program and that I made time to travel to other destinations by myself. A few international trips are definitely worth it, but make sure to include some down weekends. Although ‘travel’ abroad is fun, you need some time for the ‘study’ part, too!
– Gift ideas for your host family: It was actually kind of hard to think of something small to bring, but host moms like items such as magnets and mugs. Bringing one from your city is a good idea. Every morning I had my tea out of a Penn mug a former student had brought, and my host mom’s fridge was decorated with magnets from former students.
– Packing tips: Hit up Sam’s Club or Costco before you go and bring large sizes of all your toiletries. Not only will it save you money (I used one bottle each of shampoo, body gel, and shave cream and only one tube of toothpaste the entire semester), but it will also free up room for souvenirs (or shoes :p) on the way back, which you will definitely need!
– Best way to explore your new city: Take a walk! And if you’re really adventurous, try without a map. Some of the best activities you can do while studying abroad are free and can be done just walking around visiting different sites and exploring. Many cities also have a lot of free festivals, like Sevilla’s Festival de Naciones.
– Money advice: If you’re looking for the best way to deal with money, I LOVED my Charles Schwab checking account. It’s free to set-up checking with them if you link it to a brokerage account (no minimum!), and they don’t charge an additional hidden exchange rate like most banks. Also, any ATM fees you incur will be refunded at the end of the month. And for any bank, if you’re dealing with money transfers between accounts, definitely do this in advance if you know you’ll need more money. It usually took about a week for my online transfers from my Chase bank account to clear over in my account with Charles Schwab.
Shannon en Sevilla 