Five Things I Wish I Knew Before I Studied Abroad

Today is the third anniversary of my departure from London after my semester studying abroad. I, for one, can't believe it's been that long... nor can I believe that I'm still sitting here talking about it after that much time. But here I am, writing a sappy post about it for the second year in a row. (At least I'm consistent, right?) So here are a few things I would've told 2012 Darci before she hopped on that plane to Heathrow, and a few things that I think future study abroad-ers should know!

Not every day is going to be worthy of a blog post. It is, in fact, possible to have a boring, regular day when you're living abroad. You'll go to class, and take naps that last too long, and stay in because you have a cold, and watch a lot of your favorite TV shows. You might be abroad, but it's still your life, and you're still the same person. You're not going to be immediately transported to this fantasy existence where you can have grand adventures every day and where school work doesn't exist. However...

You're going to have some of the best days of your life. While study abroad isn't a fantasy world, it is a world in which you can choose your own adventure! Volunteer with London 2012 Ceremonies. Take stage combat classes at Shakespeare's Globe Theater. Spend every weekend visiting movie locations. Seriously, the world is your oyster! You could do the typical study abroad thing and just bum around and drink... or you could follow your passion and improve your life long-term and make yourself ridiculously happy. Your choice.

Wear good shoes when you know you're going to do a lot of walking. Past Darci, please listen to me: I don't care that those Converse go with everything, or that they're comfortable now. You know that when they start wearing out, they start destroying your feet. Do you really want those death traps on your feet when you're backpacking through Europe for two and a half weeks? Why did you think that was a good decision? More than three years later, your Achilles heel still occasionally aches because of that choice. Be good to your feet. Please.

You may not need people, but they'll make your experience all the more amazing. I went to London confident that even if I didn't make any friends, I'd have a perfectly great time. How could anyone have a bad time in London? But some of my most treasured memories have almost nothing to do with London and everything to do with the people I was with. I'm not sure how I managed to stumble into the most amazing friendships and working relationships, but I'm not going to question it. It's like the stars were aligned or something. However it happened, I found people that made it enjoyable to sort stacks of ID badges until my hands were rubbed raw, people I huddled with for warmth during a night spent sleeping outside on concrete, people I was content to hang out with in a (slightly gross) dorm kitchen with a few bottles of cider.

You're going to miss it every day for the rest of your life. Alright, I can only speak for three years after the fact. And maybe it's just me. But for real, I'm still pining for my old life in London and would hop on a plane there in a heartbeat if given the chance. So don't sign up to study abroad unless you're willing to sign up for a lifetime of missing it. (It's so worth it, though.)

My Favorite Travel Memories (Part 2)

When it comes to travel, I'M STILL LIVING IN THE PAST, GUYS. Next week (and probably for the foreseeable future) I'll have all sorts of tales about my Lake Placid adventures (have I mentioned I'm excited about this trip? Because I'm pretty excited about this trip), but for now I'll relive my past trips. For the umpteenth time. I know. But hey, I feel pretty lucky that I can keep reminiscing about old trips and continuously come up with more things to talk about. I've had some amazing travels! (For part 1, click here.)

+ When I went to Israel, I went as part of a birthright group and we traveled with a handful of Israeli soldiers. Not for protection or anything; Israel has a mandatory draft so they were our age, and they essentially use the trip to see their own country through the eyes of foreigners. Pretty cool. But anyway, we spent one night in a Bedouin tent in the Negev Desert, and the next morning we got to ride camels. I shared my camel with one of our soldiers, Dafna, and at some point during the ride she casually mentioned that she's ridden camels before but never ridden a horse. What?! Cultural differences are so fascinating.

+ Probably one of the most gratifying moments I've ever had was visiting Copenhagen and seeing Nyhavn (that famous canal lined with colored buildings) for the first time. I'd wanted to go to Denmark since doing a school project on the country in fourth grade. For so much of my life it had been a sort of pipe dream, and finally being able to realize it over a decade later was simply indescribable.

+ I studied abroad in London in the spring of 2012, and on my last day in the city I spent the afternoon wandering my favorite routes by myself. I started at Westminster to see Big Ben, made my way to Trafalgar Square, swung by Chinatown for a bubble tea, and then spent some time just sitting in Leicester Square. Leicester Square was the site of my very first outing to central London at the beginning of my study abroad experience, so that was a particularly cool moment of coming full circle. I still can't really articulate how much I love this city, and saying my final goodbyes was impossibly hard. I'm so glad I decided to head out on my own and take some time to be reflective and get closure.

+ I don't even know if this technically counts as a travel memory, but while I was studying abroad, my friends and I camped out overnight for the first Hunger Games world premiere. It was March. In London. It was cold. The ground is really hard. None of us slept much, if at all. But there's no bonding experience quite like sleeping on the street with people in the name of fandom. (The red carpet and getting to watch the movie immediately afterwards didn't suck either!)

So what about everyone else? Can you relate to any of these? What are your own favorite travel memories? :)

#StudyAbroadBecause

Last week, the hashtag #StudyAbroadBecause was trending on Twitter. Now, in case you're new around these parts, it's probably important that you know that I had the most amazing study abroad experience. So it wasn't too hard for me to think of something to contribute to that conversation.

#StudyAbroadBecause it'll be the best decision you ever make.
— Darci Miller (@darcisays) December 11, 2014

But another important thing to know about me is that I love words. Confining my answer to a single tweet is just not gonna fly, especially because I'm so aggressively pro-study abroad. And I've been meaning to make a list like this anyway, so this is a perfect excuse!

#StudyAbroadBecause it makes everything real. You may learn about the Holocaust in history classes, but walking through a concentration camp teaches you about it in an entirely new way.

#StudyAbroadBecause you need to learn that where you currently live isn't the center of the universe. I'm looking at you, Americans -- we may think we're a really big deal, and maybe we are, but people across the pond really don't care. In fact, being an American is often looked at as being a negative thing. We have a very inflated viewpoint of how America factors into things internationally, and there's nothing like transplanting yourself into a new country to take that down a few notches.

#StudyAbroadBecause if you want to live in another country, this is the best way to do it. Take it from someone who tried to stay abroad while no longer a student there; it's all but impossible. Unless you marry a foreigner or want to teach English, it's incredibly difficult to get a job or a visa or... anything, really. Go as a student.

#StudyAbroadBecause experiences > grades. I didn't learn this until I was living in London and was faced with the choice to study for finals or work a volunteer shift for London 2012 Ceremonies. Guys, London 2012 won every single time, and my life is a thousand times better for it. I think I may've gotten a B in one of my classes. Bummer?

#StudyAbroadBecause it makes "YOLO" relevant. Camp out for a movie premiere because this is your only chance to. Backpack through Europe because this is your only chance to. Take advantage of every second in your home city because when will you ever be living there again? GO DO EVERYTHING.

#StudyAbroadBecause even if it sucks, you benefit. Hate the location you chose? Hate the people in your program? Hate being broke? It might be rough in the moment, but in the long run? You become a stronger person, and it'll make you realize how much adversity you can handle.

#StudyAbroadBecause if it doesn't suck, there is literally nothing better. You'll make amazing friends and see places you've dreamed about visiting since you were 11 and dive head-first into your passions and become more independent and intelligent and open-minded. You may even pick up a tea habit (um, guilty).

#StudyAbroadBecause it'll change your life.

Why Study Abroad Friends Are The Best Friends

I haven't been home to New York in almost 10 months. TEN. MONTHS. That's the longest I've ever been away from home, and to say I'm chomping at the bit to get back there for Thanksgiving weekend would be the understatement of the year. And the funny thing is that one of the things I'm most looking forward to is getting to meet up with my London friends.

I've mentioned this before, but I met the most amazing group of people when I studied abroad. And luckily enough, a good chunk of us call the New York area home, however part-time that may be. So in the almost three years since we've known each other (side note: guys, WHAT?!?!? THREE YEARS?!), we've been able to organize a handful of reunions. This is something I haven't even been able to accomplish with my college friends yet -- why do flights from Colorado to Miami have to be so freaking expensive?! -- so these get-togethers hold a special place in my heart. And I truly think that friends you meet while traveling are a very special kind of friend. Why, you ask?

+ You know how people say you should travel with someone before you marry them because you don't truly know a person until you're in a new environment together? Well, that's what study abroad is. Every single day is a new environment. Study abroad friends have seen you struggle to convert kroners to dollars (seriously, what the heck). They've seen you when you're limping, hungry and cranky in your fifth city in 15 days. They've been with you when you can't book a damn train ticket out of Paris because it's Easter weekend, and they were there with you in the airport when your flight plans fell through too. And they love you anyway.

+ There's a whole other level of comfort with people after you travel with them. We've already shared all the germs we could possibly share, so we barely have to ask each other for a sip of each other's drinks. We know that we're all totally content just wandering through a city and seeing what we stumble across, so there's no pressure to entertain anyone. I mean, once you've shared a room in a hostel with someone, both washed your clothes in the shower and then hung them up around the room to dry... there's no more trying to impress 'em.

It's been two and a half years and I'm still laughing hysterically at this picture.

+ You know you can trust them. I mean, these are the people that met you where they said they were going to before any of you had foreign cell phones or found each other on Facebook. If anyone had ditched at that point, there'd be no chance of finding them. And you managed to backpack around Europe without losing OR killing each other! These are not the people that are going to flake. If they say they're going to be somewhere, they'll be there. (They might be late -- hey, stuff happens -- but they'll be there!) Their word means something!

+ They're a little piece of Europe at home! Almost every single reunion we've had has involved finding a British pub in New York City and having a pint. And reminiscing. Very, very heavy on the reminiscing! While I obviously miss London and my British friends desperately, having study abroad friends at home is like recreating our own little slice of our London lives... though thankfully without the shoebox dorm rooms and very questionable flatmates. Now there are apartments and real jobs and and masters degrees and student loans, which essentially means we're still that group of broke Americans nursing pints of Strongbow and talking about how amazing London is. Some things never change, right? :)

From Victoria Station to Grand Central Station! :)

In conclusion: they're pretty much the greatest. Study abroad for the travel, but also study abroad for the relationships you'll make!

A Peek Inside My Reporter's Notebook

Back in 2011 (uh, how was it so long ago?!), I was on the editorial staff of The Hurricane, the school newspaper of the University of Miami. On one weekend, we all crammed into several cars and drove the few hours north to Orlando for the National College Media Convention. It was here that I was gifted my first ever reporter's notebook.

*heavenly chorus*

Prior to this historic moment, I'd been taking interview notes in a full-sized spiral notebook. How amateur, right? While I'm still a fan of bigger notebooks, this little baby was all too easy to stuff inside a small bag and carry with me 24/7. So I did.

I used it in every session at that conference to take notes, and it subsequently accompanied me on site visits for my classes in London...

Hot mess. You try taking notes while simultaneously walking around a city and freezing your fingers off.

...to any and all UM sporting events I worked...

Also a hot mess. From left to right, basketball, soccer and tennis.

...to the Miami Heat, Marlins and Sony Open press boxes...

Heat game that went into triple overtime, heyyooo. #fundeadline

...to my USA Volleyball internship...

 ...and everywhere in between.

Still two of my favorite interviews I've ever done. :)

Poetically, I finished it off with my last interview for USAV on my last day as an intern. Saaad day.

Needless to say, that little notebook contains some good stuff. I recorded most of my interviews, though, so all of those are just lists of questions. Pretty dull. But I've been to a pretty decent number of conferences, classes, museums, and various other things that I collected info from. And what use is all of that if that stuff just sits there? So I pulled some of my favorite little tidbits to share with the world. (Or, y'know, however many people decide to read this post. Same thing.)

+ "Speak your mind even if your voice shakes."

+"Write about things you're interested in. If you can't get excited about it, don't do it."

+"You can make anything interesting."

+"Do great work where you are right now."

+The top of Big Ben tower is more ornate than the rest of the building because it can be seen from far away, and it not so subtly says "Britain is the most important country in the world."

+Buckingham Palace is a rather nondescript building that was never considered a regal place for the royals to live, but is more about the memory of Queen Victoria.

+"What! You're still looking at 'things' instead of what 'things' are doing?"

+"You are here-ish."

+"The term for a mind at work without the softening influence of the heart is... 'stupid.'"

+"In this house it is not what you see, but what you have only just missed and are being asked to imagine."

+"It matters how you write, not what you write."

+"If you don't say out loud what you want, nobody's going to give it to you."

My personal favorites, of course, from Steve Boyd at London 2012 Ceremonies volunteer orientation. :)

It's kind of cool getting to flip through three years of my life and collecting some wisdom from it. Hopefully my current notebook gets to have an equally cool life! :)

(Info/quote sources: 1-4 ACP/CMA; 5-6 Architecture of London class; 7-10 Dennis Severs' House; 11-12 Her Campus National Intercollegiette Conference 2012)