by Krishaun Burns
Studying abroad is an experience
that should be taken advantage of. Whether you are in high school or
university, the chance to do so is there! You just have to look for it. No, let
me stop you right there: not having enough money is not a good excuse, and
neither is not having enough time. Broadening your horizons, stepping out of
your comfort zone, and enhancing your global perspective are things that
everybody can benefit from. But one excuse that I will take is: I don’t know if
I could handle being away for so long. And the only reason why I will take that
excuse is because I have a solution to that: 1, 2, 3, or more weeks abroad, a
semester abroad, and a year abroad.
When I originally applied to
study abroad in Germany, my parents were very adamant about me not staying for
a year. They were more supportive for a semester, although that still hurt them
to have me away for so long. {It’s great
practice for when I go away for university, I say!} So, I applied for a
semester, despite the prices for a year and semester being the same. However,
now that I reflect on both their and my decision to choose only a semester, I
think that it was a smart one. But I'm not going to talk about that in this blog post. If you'd like to know, just e-mail me.
Studying abroad has been the best experience of
my life. I have not only been able to meet friends from all over the world {no – literally: Mexico, Chile, Argentina,
Australia, South Africa, Thailand, Canada, Germany – duh – etc.}, I have also been able to
integrate myself in a completely other culture. I can proudly say that I can
read, speak, and write German {whether I
can do that well is the question}, navigate the Deutsche Bahn (train
system) like a pro {I’m only a little
nervous}, tell the difference between
Wursts {Don’t tell me that you do not
know what a Weißwurst, Bratwurst, Cervelat, and Bockwurst is}, and know that
Döner, no matter how delicious it is, is neither healthy nor German, but
Turkish.
And I just said all of that to say that I have
been able to do that in a semester. Five
months (sometimes four and sometimes six). Typically, exchanges last for a
year, but it’s not always like that, and you do not have to feel bad if you do
not stay for a year either. Before I left for Germany (and even while there),
it seemed like all I heard was, “I’m here for a year.” I felt like I was going
to be missing out on something. I felt like an imposter, like I was not an
actual exchange student. But oh, the contraire! I (and all other semester
students) am just as much of an exchange student as someone staying for 10, 11,
or 12 months. You get to experience what they do, only at a quicker pace
(because you’ll feel like you need to speed up your experiences). Naturally,
you will miss out on things like the mid-year seminar and other little
activities such as that, but that’s not important. You have your own experiences to experience, and you
want to be able to feel comfortable doing so.
Some people want to experience the experience
of an exchange, but they also know that they cannot or do not want to stay for
so long. That’s me. This is my last year in high school and my last year with
my family before I go off to college. I want to be able to share as much time
with them as possible. That’s something that I did not recognize until
recently—not 12 months ago when I decided to do a semester. Some people know
when they choose; others, it just seems to be a gut feeling. If I knew that I had five more months here
and then only have three with my family, I think I would be too anxious during
my exchange, and I would not be able to experience it to the fullest extent.
With a semester, I am able to experience being an exchange student with the
benefits of becoming a global citizen, and I go home next week to be with my
family. It’s a win-win situation.
To help you decide whether doing an exchange
for a year or semester is better for you, I have composed a list below to help
you figure it out:
Do a Semester Exchange
if you…
1. Are in high school and do not want
to repeat a grade (if you must).
2. Want to see if you can handle being
away from home (with the experience) but are not sure.
3. Do not have enough finances to
support yourself for a year. (Do not let
this be the breaking point for you though. There are ways around this!)
4. Have responsibilities at home that will only allow you to do a semester away.
Do a Year Exchange if
you…
1. Do not care about having to repeat a
grade in high school or if it does not affect you at all.
2. Know that you can handle being away
from home for so long.
3. Have enough finances to support
yourself for a year.
To read more about studying abroad, check out Become a Global Citizen: Study Abroad in High School
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