Tips and Tricks Before You Go

Despite having visited the country prior to my study abroad experience, there were still many things that surprised me about my global adventure. The weeks leading up to my departure, I was very anxious as I would be traveling alone for the first time without any friends or people that I knew of. I did not meet many people during any of the orientation days, which in hindsight would have definitely eased my nerves a little. However, a few of the girls from my program made a group chat through GroupMe. This was smart because it allowed us to communicate before the trip and get out any questions we had to mediate our travel concerns. Additionally, I wanted to travel on the weekends during my global experience because of the proximity to so many wonderful countries. Therefore, I was able to connect with other people from Pitt in this group message who were also interested in traveling on the weekends and make plans in advance. I highly recommend doing this because it let me make connections with people before traveling, and I saved on travel costs by booking early instead of a last minute plan the week before. Not only did I save on money, but this also made me a lot less anxious leading up to my departure from the U.S. because I had someone I knew already and I did not have to stress about planning a weekend vacation during the school week when I should be studying. Another thing I wish I had known before going is that I would be meeting people from other schools and not be limited to making connections with only people from Pitt. While I will be returning this school year with a lot of new friends from this program that go to Pitt, I wish I had known beforehand that I would also be having the opportunity to interact with a lot of students from other schools who were attending the university through the CIEE program as well. This would have made me a lot less nervous before leaving home because I would not feel pressured to force relationships from the small pool of students from Pitt attending school in Spain. That being said, learning about the students from other schools upon arrival was a pleasant surprise because I made so many friends from all over the country that I will remain in contact with after the program is over. Based on my experience, I would recommend keeping your mind open to new friends, even if you are traveling with someone you know, because you can learn a lot from students attending other schools, and who you surround yourself with can change your experience drastically. Attached is a photo of my new friends and I from Pitt and other schools ranging from Texas to Chicago in the Plaza Mayor in Madrid!