Leaving with No Regrets

The biggest piece of advice I would give to someone who is planning to study abroad on this Plus3 program is to take in every moment. The program is only two weeks long, and the itinerary is jam packed. It will be difficult to quickly get over the jet lag and deal with the early morning company visits, but your time abroad really does go by fast, so take a moment to enjoy every activity on the itinerary. After just two days of being back home, I miss it already.
 
            To add on to the last paragraph, my biggest regret was worrying too much about our academic projects. Even though the trip is a study abroad program, I learned way more about Germany when I was enjoying my time and focusing on the itinerary than actually stressing and working on the projects. The projects are all team-based and there is time set aside to work on it with your team, so I wish I would’ve enjoyed my time more than worrying about my projects.
 
            One of the easiest ways to remember everything is by taking a moment to snap some pictures or videos. As you already need to take pictures for your daily blogs, which are a part of the program, you are basically killing two birds with one stone. I still look back at all my pictures and videos and remember all the memories from that moment. Make sure to spend time writing your blogs, too, so you can look back at those as well.
 
            The second piece of advice I would give to someone is always have an open mind. This may be your only time abroad with a group of individuals like this, so take advantage of as many opportunities as you can. To build off this statement, don’t be afraid to spend your money. Yes, it may be excessive to buy a lot of clothes, but use your money to do as many tourist activities as possible or try new foods. One quote that has always stuck with me is “You cannot make up time and memories, but you can always make up money”. So, don’t be afraid to go out with the group and have fun. Besides, the program is only two weeks, so you don’t need that much money after all.
 
            Overall, make sure you enjoy every moment. You don’t want to come back home with regret wishing you did something that you didn’t, like going inside this fortress and looking at the view of Austria.