#bcstudyabroad

The difference about making friends while on exchange is that all other exchange students are fairly open minded, friendly and were willing to take a risk to be there. Making friends is really easy because people are there to do the same thing. I made really close friends during the first semester and was invited to visit my friends in their home countries, it was such an amazing experience. I learned a lot more about their cultures and how it differs from my own by staying with their families and doing activities different from regular tourists. I have kept in contact with them and expect to return the favour one day.

I travelled quite a bit over the time I was here. In Europe transportation is very easy across and between countries. I spent a lot of my money but it was worth it. You get a lot of rewarding experience from travelling mostly from the culture and history you learn by being there. You also develop skills like budgeting, planning schedules and arranging transportation.

By doing my exchange I extended the completion time of my degree. Now this might not be what some students want to do but it is worth it. At graduation everyone will relatively all have similar things on their resume and will have the same education; it will be hard to say you are better than everyone else or that you are different when you look for a job. With the experience of an exchange you study in another country and learn differently from their education system, it also speaks to the kind of person you are. Many people may be afraid to leave home, you show that you were brave enough to venture somewhere far away to learn and experience new things. It proves you are adaptable to change and over all you mature in ways you would not at home. I can say with confidence that my exchange has helped me mature and become a much stronger person.

I hope this short piece has given you a little insight into studying abroad and helped you to see how it can be beneficial to your life in multiple ways. Again, it was the best decision I have ever made and I am very happy and fortunate I was able to partake in such an experience.

The nursing care we were able to provide was something you can only experience there. I took 3,000 photos there and it wasn’t enough. I wish I could have captured everything. One thing I did bring home were 6 best friends and colleagues who I spent an unforgettable 5 weeks making memories with. My only advice is that if you are unsure of whether to go or not, “jump”- that’s what an instructor told me and I never looked back. I had more personal growth over the five weeks we were there than in the last two years of my life. It consistently challenged me, forced me to adapt, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. When I look back on my nursing degree, this is what I will remember.