Just a disclaimer here — if you clicked on this hoping to find insightful, good advice for studying abroad, you’re probably in the wrong place. That is because the following post was originally written for the April Fool’s edition of The Etownian, my college newspaper. An abridged version of this piece can be found in the print edition of the paper.
Although the Study Abroad Office and your study abroad program will do their best to prepare you for studying abroad, there are still things they’ll miss. I’ve been studying abroad in Germany for 8 months now, and I hope I will be able to fill in some gaps!
5. Don’t forget to look up the exact number of horses currently residing in your host country.
Before you leave, it’s important to research where you are going, if only to have a basic overview of common cultural practices. Trust me, this knowledge will come in handy.
4. You don’t need to bring novelty disguise glasses, but they certainly can’t hurt.
When immersing yourself into a new culture for the first time, it’s inevitable that you’ll eventually slip up and commit a faux pas. Bringing a pair of these can give you a quick escape route if need be!
3. Don’t drink the spoiled milk.
This one is obvious. It’s past it’s time, you need to let it go (in the trash).
2. Allow yourself to sink into a soft loam and peat mixture.
The cost of travel to another country for study abroad can be expensive. This fun alternative won’t get you any closer to your host country, but it sure is cheaper!
1. When you arrive, commune with local spirits as soon as possible.
Host a tea party or something. I really think this is an important step towards making a good first impression as a student of Etown. To those visiting Marburg: Frau Teegesellschaft really enjoys Oolong.
I hope this article has helped you plan your study abroad trip. Best of luck!
Happy April Fool’s! I hope you enjoyed this post.
I know this post is a bit late for an April Fool’s joke, but in my defense, I didn’t have access to my computer on April 1st, and also wanted to wait until The Etownian published it. In any case, I’m posting this in lieu of a real update this week, because a lot happened over the last two weeks. I’m not quite sure whether I’ll be writing and publishing it as a massive, late post, or if I’ll post it as a series of smaller, late posts on the weeks between my regular posts. I might decide to make it a more picture-heavy post, with less commentary. We’ll see.
Also, here is my One-Second-Every-Day video for March!
What I’m listening to this week: L’Ultima Festa by Cosmo.
Grandma Sue
The One Second a Day for March is the best one yet. You caught some great things: the rainbow, whatever was popping up in the fry pan, your friend dancing.