Study Abroad

The old stereotype about Americans is we are generally oblivious to what goes on in the rest of the world.  When you live in a nation as vast and isolated as the United States, it can be very difficult for citizens to conceptualize the cultural, social, and philosophical differences of countries abroad.  However, studying abroad affords one the opportunity to live in a foreign city for an extended period of time and break out of his or her protective home shell. I was fortunate enough to be able to study abroad in London, England during the spring semester of 2009.

As an American study abroad student in London, I found myself in a unique situation because of the extensive historical past sharedbetween the American and British people. The United Kingdom is the homeland formany Americans, which lends to a natural bond between the two countries thateven Winston Churchill noted in his famous “Sinews of Peace” speech. I can nowlook back on my study abroad experience and wholeheartedly agree withChurchill’s sentiment.  Throughout my time in London, I enjoyed immersing myselfin the royalty and tradition that defines British culture while interactingwith other students who were just as interested in learning about Americansociety.

Although studying abroad does not impact each studentequally, you can bet it will improve your ability to communicate with people ofother cultures as well as change your perception of the rest of theworld.  My semester abroad taught me two very important life lessons, inparticular.  One, as a study abroad student you have a tremendous amountof responsibility to represent your home country in a positive manner. For example, most of the friends I made in London had previously never interactedwith an American on a regular basis.  With this in mind, I was alwaysconscientious of how I was acting around others because I knew my actions wouldinfluence their view of Americans.  For those of you who have not yet goneabroad, you will learn this is no easy task!  Second, I learned that whenyou converse with someone from a different country on a regular basis, youbegin to break away from your own pre-conceived beliefs and realize that mostpeople have the same basic needs – they just meet them in very different ways.

After my semester abroad concluded, I was compelled to sharemy experience with other students who were going abroad in the future.  Asa result, I created AbroadinLondon.net as a resource toalleviate some of the initial anxiety future London study abroad students may face and as a way for me to document my unforgettable memories from abroad.

Although the Abroad in London website proved successful in its intention, I remained unsatisfied with the current state of the studenttravel industry.  One often overlooked item is that living in a foreigncountry for an extended period of time is an intimidating experience! Before I went abroad, I had very little information at my disposal about theidiosyncrasies of student and university life in London.  The research onthe internet was overwhelming and filled with propaganda by variousprograms.  On top of that, I didn’t know any other students studying inLondon.  This made my actual study abroad semester much more difficultthan it needed to be.

Because of this massive information problem, I recently founded StudentsGoneGlobal.com,a new online community for study abroad and youth travelers.  StudentsGoneGlobal makes it easy for students to find useful first-hand travelinformation from their peers abroad, as well as interact with people who studyin the same destination, or in places they are interested in traveling to inthe future.

Students Gone Global is 100% free to use for all student andyouth travelers, so help us inspire students to travel the world by joining ourcommunity before your next trip abroad.

My initial interest in studying abroad came from my first international experience in the summer of 2006 after high schoolgraduation. My Dad, whose job consists of traveling overseas on nearly amonthly basis, treated me to a two w-ek vacation to England, France, and Belgium. For two weeks, I was able to see the Westminster Abbey and theParliament in London, tour the Normandy region of France, visit the Louvre andEiffel Tower in Paris, and even eat a Belgium waffle in Brussels. I willnever forget those two weeks of traveling and I encourage you all to find a wayto go abroad and have similar life-changing experiences!