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Keeping career-focused on your year abroad
Thursday, 29 March 2012We talk a lot on the site about taking advantage of the opportunity to travel, make friends, absorb the culture and have amazing new experiences, but this should not be at the expense of your career plans - yes, getting a weekend job will mean you can't have crazy Friday and Saturday nights, but if it's work experience in your dream industry or helps you afford a course to learn a new skill, then you need to get your priorities straight.
Olivia Russell is studying Spanish and History at Sheffield University and is on her year abroad in Madrid, and has some great advice about making the most of your year abroad with your career and final year in mind.Published in Making the Most of Your Year Abroad -
Extracurricular classes on your year abroad in Germany
Friday, 17 February 2012If you’re heading out to Germany for your year away, whether you’re Erasmus studying, working a cool internship or going down a volunteering route, you should look into practicing skills, passions and random activities in your spare time. Why? Because you’ll have way more spare time now then you will come 4th year, or, shudder, upon graduating when CVs, interviews and grown-up jobs will take over your life. Here’s our definitive list of the cool and quirky, from hip Berlin to dreamy Dortmund, happening Frankfurt and more...Published in Extracurricular Activities -
100 Reasons to Study Abroad
Monday, 30 January 2012I have recently had the opportunity to read through hundreds and hundreds of year abroad graduate case studies, and it made me realise just how much students miss out if they don't study abroad during their degree course. It also means I'm in the perfect position to write this list - an assimilation of their (and my!) top tips and biggest benefits in hindsight - all in one place.
Here are 100 reasons (there are many more - these are the best ones!) to study abroad and make the most of every second you're away...
Published in Study Abroad -
Everything you need to know for your year abroad in France
Wednesday, 18 January 2012Although preparing your year abroad back home may seem like a lot of faff, paperwork and what not, but the prospect of going to France and dealing with all of that, all over again and in - aaargh - French can leave you with a bit of a headache. Filling out forms, no speaking the bureaucratic lingo and no knowledge of protocol. This is where this article comes in: what to watch out for, how to get the most out of your money and what you can sign up to. Read on to find out more:
Published in Before You Go -
How to fake your language skills to become a local
Monday, 16 January 2012Becoming fluent on your year abroad is easy as pie if you're constantly surrounded by local people at work, at university and in your social life, but in reality your 'year' abroad might be only seven months (or half of it spent in another country), you might also hang out with English-speaking friends while you're there, and of course you always need a bit of time to yourself! There's no way that you can be fully-immersed 24/7, but you still need to appear less foreign/touristy as fast as possible. Why? So that locals don't reply to you in English, so they trust you and open up to you more, and so that you feel you are progressing quickly which helps hugely with confidence. "Your [insert language] is amazing! How long have you been here for?!" We are all, secretly, praise junkies.
Published in Language Skills
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Extracurricular classes on your year abroad in Italy
Tuesday, 21 February 2012It would be a crime not to make the most of Italian cooking, eating, dancing, trampolining, speaking, drinking etc on your year abroad here. After all, the food is second to none, the wine doesn’t get tiresome and you’re noticing it doesn’t get much better than this: la vita è davvero bella. Oh yes, yes it is. You’re through a few months of it now and family and friends are expecting lots from you: an academic’s knowledge of Michelangelo, the ability to make perfect hand-made ravioli, distinguish your espresso from your americano, get the froth right on the cappuccino AND speak the local dialect.Published in Extracurricular Activities -
Choose your UK university based on its year abroad offering
Monday, 13 February 2012If you are considering doing an undergraduate degree at a UK university, it is quite likely that you have the option to study abroad whatever your degree course!
(here are 100 reasons to study abroad, to remind you why it's so important to go...)
Some universities are much more flexible and open to this than others though, so it's very important that you know your options before you apply - you don't want to get a nasty surprise in second year as your university prevents you from having the best year of your life!Published in Sixth Form -
Everything you need to know for your year abroad in Spain
Friday, 20 January 2012If you’re planning on moving to Spain for your year or semester abroad, you will be thinking of accommodation, bureaucracy, bank accounts and much more. It might be wise to read our Culture Shock section for more tips about Spanish working hours, politeness and more before you set sail to the Iberian Peninsula. Read on to find out what you should do when you arrive, how to sort out lodgings and what to look out for regarding money issues and more...
Published in Before You Go -
How to make friends and not alienate people (on your year abroad)
Wednesday, 18 January 2012Seasoned adventuress, Nell Fane, passes on her top tried-and-tested tips about fitting in quickly when you arrive in a new place...
Published in When You Arrive -
How to teach your friends and family to speak the lingo before they visit
Wednesday, 11 January 2012It’s coming to that time of year again...No, not Christmas, nor the end of exams, but rather a fun weekend involving your year abroad, your best mate/partner in crime/parents coming to visit and you’re not only looking forward to pretending to be a tourist in your new city (ahem, you’re now officially a local of course) but you’re also planning on doing loads of typical things with them. Going to cute little cafés, munching on local cuisine, visiting the [insert name of famous museum] together. Just one little hitch in the plan - they virtually do not speak any foreign tongue; yes and no are trying at the best of times, their pronunciation is totally off-key and regardless of how many times you have tried to teach them basic words, they can’t seem to muster them up on command. What to do? The weekend can’t just be you translating all the time, can it? That’s where these simple steps and hints come in...
Published in When You Arrive
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