Tip for studying overseas
part two
Remember your roots.
Contact people you care about before and after. You are a person with feelings and relocating overseas is a big event. Talk to your close friends and family about your thoughts, dreams and fears for your new venture before you leave and make sure you keep in regular contact after you arrive and during your time away. Sharing the experience always halves any burdens and doubles the excitement of any achievements. Besides, with the ease and convenience of communicating via the Internet nowadays, there is no excuse not to keep in touch!
It is important to realize that while new and exciting things may be happening to you in your new environment, things and people back at home will also be changing. It is possible to feel isolated and experience "reverse culture shock" when you return home for a visit after an extended period of time away. The extent of this can be determined by such things as how involved you become in your new culture and how involved you stay in your original culture. Remember your roots, they are an important part of who you are.
Take opportunities as they come.
Learn from all experiences. Value both your achievements and disappointments as learning experiences that can be applied to future situations in life. Value all positive outcomes and more importantly, don't take negative outcomes at face value. Instead, try to see the lessons in mistakes and turn them into opportunities for future improvement. Opportunities are present all the time, but often they go by unnoticed. Recognizing opportunities is a skill which anyone can learn through practice and patience.
In summary, travelling overseas is an amazing opportunity for personal growth, which not everyone has the chance, or the inclination to take part in. By no means should my advice be taken as the only way to do things. The beauty of learning through experience is that it proves that there is no right and wrong way, instead preparing you for the best personal way in which you can deal with issues as they arise. |