“My room is a disaster!” I told my friend, just mere days before I jet-set to another continent for my study abroad adventure. Recently, my days have been filled with packing and errand-running, so naturally my room is completely cluttered as I gradually fill my suitcase and carry-on. This Friday, Jan. 3, I embark on a 2-day journey to arrive in San José, Costa Rica.

*Packed and ready to go!* *I love using packing cubes.*

I’m excited to study abroad with International Studies Abroad (ISA) for winter quarter. Here are the goals that guided me in selecting this program. I questioned myself, “What am I hoping to get out of study abroad? What are my goals and interests?”

Improve my Spanish language skills and proficiency
Develop greater cultural awareness and understanding
Explore Costa Rica and visit as many places as I can
Connect with and support the local community through service-learning
Experience self-growth, personally and professionally, by pushing myself outside my comfort zone

The list has evolved over time. To this day, I continue to reflect upon these goals and how I will implement them into my study abroad experience. As a Spanish major, I aim to develop fluency in the language, especially in terms of conversation and listening comprehension. I’m grateful to take the course “Advanced Grammar and Conversation” – my final elective for my degree – and participate in service-learning, which is similar to volunteer work with a local organization.

I will be volunteering at a music and cultural center, called SiNEM (Sistema Naciónal de Educación Musical), which translates to “Nacional System of Music Education”. The center provides music education to local youth, and is located in the Desamparados area of San José, is part of a larger public park – Parque de Libertad (“Liberty Park”) – dedicated to providing opportunities for education, recreation, and cultural growth for the all ages in the community. I applied and was accepted to volunteer there, and I am grateful to learn more about Costa Rican music and traditions, and to engage with native-speakers and locals.

Throughout my studies at WWU, I’ve learned about Latin American history and culture, and I strive to deepen this knowledge. I’ve already absorbed some information about Costa Rican history and culture by reading articles online and attending my orientations. One aspect of Costa Rican culture that stands out to me is the concept of pura vida which translates to “pure life”. Essentially, it is a phrase that means enjoying a relaxed life and appreciating the simple things. In a social scenario, one might ask, “¿Cómo estás?” or “How are you?” and the other person might reply, “¡Pura vida!” The phrase evokes joy, well-being, and peace. As someone who is quite used to a fast-paced, productivity-driven existence, I think that embracing pura vida as a mindset and lifestyle is just what I need.

I’m most excited about meeting new people and practicing my Spanish every day. There is only so much one can learn within a classroom, and I believe that linguistic and cultural immersion is critical for attaining language fluency. I look forward to meeting my host mom, eating meals with her, and asking for advice. In my classes, I hope to make friends, both local and international students. We all hail from diverse walks of life, and broadening my perspectives is a fundamental part of this experience.

I’m most nervous about transportation and making my way around the city. Costa Rica has a bus system throughout the country, but bus stops are not always clearly marked, and arrival/departure times can vary. While I will walk to school everyday, I will need to use public transportation to arrive at my service-learning site. My plan is to ask ISA on-site staff and my host mom for recommendations. After living in San José for weeks, I think I will get used to getting around the city.

In addition, I’ve developed a “toolbox” of skills or strategies to manage challenges that may arise, including:

Flexibility when things don’t go as expected; maintaining an open-mind and adapting to the situation.
Patience with myself and others; this is a new experience and being kind to myself is important – even in difficult moments and especially when I make mistakes.
Gratitude for each experience, moment, etc.; it’s important to remind myself of how lucky I am to travel and visit another country. This is a rare opportunity and I express gratitude toward the people and places I’ve encountered.

After months of planning and preparing to study abroad, I’m thankful to be able to study and live in another country. Studying abroad has been one of my dreams since high-school, and each passing day makes my travel aspirations seem more real. This blog will share my journey and experiences while I’m in Costa Rica. Thanks for reading!

Epilogue

January 19, 2024January 19, 2024rothg2

After four months, I’m back home.

It feels so comforting to be back in my old room, to be with my family, and to have a few weeks of unproductive mindless downtime before going back to school. I expected to feel very sad after leaving Prague, and I do miss my friends from UNYP, but I am mostly happy to be home. The glow of all my happy memories from the last few months has kept me feeling grateful, not sad.

This last blog post is what it says in the title—an epilogue, and a reflection on the whole semester abroad.

From WWU’s travel writing program writing prompts:

If I had the chance to go back in time, I would probably do almost everything the same way. I might have tried a little harder to look for an affordable program at Charles University, but my experience at the University of New York in Prague was fine. One thing I could have definitely done better was getting to know people who weren’t studying abroad. Almost all of my friends were only staying in Prague for a semester, and I neglected the chance to talk to full-time students in class. It’s hard to definitively list more things I wish I had done differently, because I know that I did the best I could with the time that I had. Sure, I could have been stricter in my plans and fit more Prague sightseeing into my weeks, but that may have taken away from my ability to be present and spontaneous. I could have spent more time with my friends, but that may have burned up my social battery.

In the future, I would like to travel abroad again. I may not study abroad again, since I graduate after next year, but I think another semi-long-term trip abroad is possible for me (ex: peacecorps). On the other hand, I’ve realized that I really like my home, and I found it hard to be away from my roots. Because of this, studying abroad has shown me that I don’t want to live abroad for a long time period. One semester was the perfect length for me. I know that my experience living abroad for several months will help me in any future trips abroad, and for that I’m grateful.

Main takeaways:

I’ve recorded my biggest takeaways in this blog throughout the semester, so to get their full scope, I’d recommend looking at what I’ve written over the last few months. Here are some of my most notable takeaways that I’ve written about, and where to find them:

It was useless to try to fit my experience into a mold of “tourist” or “local,” because studying abroad occupies a unique space between both. (see “I speak English like it’s my second language”)
School was not my most important responsibility. (see “Settling in“)
I required balance between the unending social opportunities and resting alone time–I needed to be okay with not doing everything possible. (see “Settling in…“, “Mid Program: A day in the life“)
Europe is not always better than America. (see “I’m not sure how to like my peers“)
Traveling with positive expectations allows for more positive experiences. (see “A weekend in Budapest“)
The semester, especially the middle of it, flew by quietly, but it was still full of valuable experiences. (see “The blur of the middle“)
One’s host school is a very important part of the program, in addition to the host location. (see “Settling in” and “I’m not sure how to like my peers“)
You can’t change everyone’s minds even if you disagree with them. (see “I’m not sure how to like my peers“)
Learning the basic greetings and everyday phrases of your host country’s language is extremely valuable–but the things I learned beyond that were rarely used. (see “Logistical tips for studying abroad“)
There’s only so much comfort you can get from an impermanent living space. (see “Preparing for re-entry“)
The little things are the things I will miss most. (see “Preparing for re-entry“)

Vignettes

One prompt for this post-program post was “What has this experience meant to me?” I think meaning is shown well through memory, so to sort of answer that question, I’ll record some of my favorite memories from this fall.

^ A group of strangers, soon to be friends, stand with me on the walls of Prague castle. We look out over the orange and green expanse of Prague’s skyline, feeling like we have all the time in the world to explore it.

^ My roommates and I walk together in the arched gothic halls of the St. Agnes Convent, in our fanciest outfits, before listening to a string quintet as part of Prague’s Dvořákova festival. Some of us have wine glasses in our hands, and our hushed voices mingle with the clicks of our heels in the echoing rooms.

^ The spired cathedral crowns the hill above us as we follow an overgrown cobblestone path down to the creek. A cat follows us. We’re not in a rush; we have all day to meander through the town of Kutná Hora. For once, the sunlight’s warmth is welcome as we shiver against the first breezes of autumn.

^ I sit with my friend at the edge of a pond, which we found in the midst of a sprawling wooded park. While admiring the light on the water, we gasp as a golden koi drifts out from under the lily pads and glides around us. Once it leaves, we sit for a while longer, talking softly and enjoying the reeds and swaying trees.

^ It’s hard to hear ourselves think over the waves of chatter and laughter flowing across the table at our friendsgiving potluck. But that doesn’t stop us from continuing happy conversations with the people next to us—leaning close to share jokes and loudly compliment every homemade dish. I enjoy Sea’s pasta, and no one can get enough of Todd’s lasagna.

^ After weeks of rehearsal, the school choir that “adopted” me performs our winter concert. My friends (and their friends) take up two full rows of seats, and I feel proud to be sharing our festive music with them. The Czech Museum of Music is built so that every note and chord reverberates through the space, echoing after we finish singing.

^ Captivated, bordering on reverential, I listen to Hozier’s “Cherry Wine.” The whole audience sings along, and our voices are so indistinct that they merge into one. An unspoken connection tethers us all for a moment until the song ends.

^ Reflections of streetlights glisten on the waters of the Vltava as I walk along the bank with my friends. Prague is frosted, and quiet, as if the snow muffles the busy city. A faint fog seems to bring everything closer. We wander around, half believing ourselves to be in Narnia.

Photo Recap

I’ll end this post with some of my favorite pictures from this semester. I’ll make them from most to least recent, just like my Photos page, because that way we can end this blog with the beginning. I always like a good circular ending—don’t you?

*Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí*) *in the snow on film*

*A lot of pictures of Charles Bridge, right? But the light in this one was too good not to include*

*Just a normal selfie, but it’s the only picture I have with Barbara and I like it*

*Bohemian Switzerland National Park (below pic as well)*

*Cindy taking pictures of Český Krumlov*

*On the roof of the Czech National Museum*

*My favorite park: Grébovka, aka Havlíčkovy sady*

*Basilica of St. Ludmila at Náměstí Míru*

*My first glimpse of Prague from the incoming airplane*

Dear reader, thanks for staying with me through this whole post, and for the whole saga of my travels! It means a lot.

Now that we’re officially done: Goodbye Prague! Until next time, na shledanou.

Epilogue

January 19, 2024January 19, 2024rothg2

After four months, I’m back home.

This last blog post is what it says in the title—an epilogue, and a reflection on the whole semester abroad.

From WWU’s travel writing program writing prompts:

Main takeaways:

It was useless to try to fit my experience into a mold of “tourist” or “local,” because studying abroad occupies a unique space between both. (see “I speak English like it’s my second language”)
School was not my most important responsibility. (see “Settling in“)
I required balance between the unending social opportunities and resting alone time–I needed to be okay with not doing everything possible. (see “Settling in…“, “Mid Program: A day in the life“)
Europe is not always better than America. (see “I’m not sure how to like my peers“)
Traveling with positive expectations allows for more positive experiences. (see “A weekend in Budapest“)
The semester, especially the middle of it, flew by quietly, but it was still full of valuable experiences. (see “The blur of the middle“)
One’s host school is a very important part of the program, in addition to the host location. (see “Settling in” and “I’m not sure how to like my peers“)
You can’t change everyone’s minds even if you disagree with them. (see “I’m not sure how to like my peers“)
Learning the basic greetings and everyday phrases of your host country’s language is extremely valuable–but the things I learned beyond that were rarely used. (see “Logistical tips for studying abroad“)
There’s only so much comfort you can get from an impermanent living space. (see “Preparing for re-entry“)
The little things are the things I will miss most. (see “Preparing for re-entry“)

Vignettes

Photo Recap

Dear reader, thanks for staying with me through this whole post, and for the whole saga of my travels! It means a lot.

Now that we’re officially done: Goodbye Prague! Until next time, na shledanou.

January 19, 2024January 19, 2024rothg2

Logistical tips for studying abroad

This post had to come eventually! It will be fairly boring to anyone who isn’t planning an upcoming study abroad trip, so please don’t feel obligated to read this if you’re just following along with my pictures and updates about my trip. The following post will include various practical things I’ve learned about traveling to a new country, including language learning, cell service/technology, packing, and shopping. My very first post (“The calm before the storm”) shares some of my pre-departure tasks and how I prepared for my trip; I will repeat some things from that post but I still recommend reading it.

Packing

I decided to bring one large suitcase, one small suitcase, and a backpack to Prague. I tend to overpack, so it took a lot of deliberating and precise folding to finagle everything I wanted to bring into that luggage. I had to be very picky about what I brought, but that being said, I also think it’s important to bring sentimental and comforting things with you. After all, when you study abroad, your host location will be your home for several months, so it’s important to make it feel like a home, not a hotel. For reference, I brought some framed pictures for my desk, some non-framed pictures to tape on my wall, a small Wonder Woman plastic figure from my mom, and my boyfriend’s oversized puffer coat.

Despite being very strict about what clothes I brought, I still have clothing items that I rarely wear. So one tip is: if you’re trying to lighten your packing load, pay special attention to your clothes, because that’s usually the category where you can remove the most things without causing problems. I know a favored solution to the packing problem is buying things at your host location, but I wanted to avoid that as much as possible. I didn’t want to spend money on redundant things and then have to throw them out or bring them home in extra luggage. I decided to only buy toiletries here (shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc), and packed everything else I needed.

The things I’m most grateful to have brought are:

my nice camera
an extra folded-up duffel bag (for the trip home)
extra bags for shopping
my pictures
a portable charger
a small padlock
winter gear
small first aid kit
my kindle

Technology

For international cell service, I decided to leave my family’s Verizon plan because its international charges were too high. I got Google Fi instead, and used its “flexible” plan so I paid monthly based on how much data I used. I recommend this option if you’ll only be away for 2-3 months, but not longer, because after around 2 months, Google Fi told me it was canceling my international coverage since I wasn’t using it in the US. Apparently, that little stipulation was in the fine print that I didn’t read carefully enough. As an alternative, I recommend trying an e-sim card, because they’re digital and they usually allow you to keep your existing phone number. Another option is to buy a physical sim card once you get to your location. A group of friends of mine did this and got a big family plan at a local T-Mobile in Prague, so they got to split the cost of the plan. They call themselves “sim siblings.”

Other technology tips:

Bring multiple outlet adaptors, or a single adapter with multiple charging ports, because I only brought one and had to buy another when I realized I couldn’t charge my phone and laptop at the same time.
A portable charger comes in very handy!
I recommend bringing any kind of camera that you have, to take higher quality pictures and avoid using up your phone battery while traveling.

Language learning:

I tried to learn some Czech over the summer to prepare for my semester in Prague. Here are the main tools I used:

On Spotify: Czech music playlists, and the One Minute Czech podcast
I kept a notebook where I wrote down everything I learned, and brought that notebook with me everywhere
Duolingo
Quizlet (after writing what I learned in my notebook, I made a ton of flashcards so I could test myself)
Czech With Katerina (youtube channel): this was the most important tool I used, because Katerina has almost 30 episodes of Czech language instruction, along with free worksheets that you can print and fill out every episode. She even has little quizzes!

I learned quite a few words/phrases over the summer, but interestingly, I’ve hardly learned any more since I got here. For one thing, since I’m at an English-speaking school, I’m not surrounded by Czech-speaking people. In addition, after I learned basic greetings and etiquette over the summer, the sheer volume of vocabulary and grammar rules beyond that was so overwhelming that I haven’t really made any progress since I arrived. I have gotten to use the Czech that I do know, however, which has been fun. One thing I like is that the Czech locals will usually begin a conversation in Czech, not English, even if they can tell I’m a foreigner. I appreciate that they let me initiate a conversation in Czech, even if I then follow it with an embarrassing display of my ignorance of the language

Some miscellaneous tips

Public transport may seem overwhelming at first, but google maps and apple maps have a transit feature that will tell you exactly how to get where you need to go. Follow them, and pay attention to which side of the street you need to be on depending on the direction you’re traveling.
If you’re coming to Europe from the USA, you may need to get used to shopping more frequently and in smaller “batches” than in America. Since I’m sharing a small food storage space with 5 roommates, I can’t buy very much food at one time, so I shop more frequently than I do at home.
Seeing everything labeled in a different language can be confusing, but google translate has a photo option that translates the words in your picture. I use this almost every day for shopping, cooking, etc.
do some research on your host area ahead of time, so you can prepare for the climate, understand the locals, and start a list of things you want to do (especially things that will require planning).

If there are any students reading this who have further questions about preparing to study abroad, feel free to reach out to me!

Student Stories

Education Abroad Blogs & Travel Writing

Day: January 19, 2024

Pre-Departure: Goal-Setting & Planning

Epilogue

Epilogue

Logistical tips for studying abroad