{"id":3647,"date":"2015-02-10T15:36:18","date_gmt":"2015-02-10T03:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/auip.wordpress.com\/?p=3392"},"modified":"2015-02-10T15:36:18","modified_gmt":"2015-02-10T03:36:18","slug":"student-perspective-ways-to-avoid-anxiety-while-studying-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/student-perspective-ways-to-avoid-anxiety-while-studying-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Perspective: Ways to avoid anxiety while studying abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ashley Carlisle, the Florida Down Under<\/a> marketing intern, writes:<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Blog<\/p>\n

Though I had waited years for the opportunity to study abroad, I still had reservations about having limited communication and not knowing anyone else. But I knew I could not forgo such an amazing opportunity because of a little apprehensiveness. I jumped in at the deep end and was so glad I did. Here are a few tips to help others who may be struggling with anxiety before going abroad for the first time:<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Socialize with new friends:<\/strong> When we departed LAX<\/a> to fly to North Queensland<\/a>, I knew no one, but by the first night at Bungalow Bay<\/a>, I had already made five new friends with my bunkmates. I often consider myself introverted but on the program I found it surprisingly simple to make friends as everyone was open and welcoming to new friendships. Try to be social and talk to anyone and everyone on your program.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Immerse yourself in the program:<\/strong> Whether working on course modules or exploring new surroundings, we were always kept very busy. I thought I would be spending a lot of my free time phoning home, but I found myself opting to visit local markets<\/a> or hike nearby trails instead. The busier you are, the less you will have the chance to be homesick. Studying abroad is a great chance to focus on the present and enjoy the trip of a lifetime!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \"Blog<\/a><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Keep a journal:<\/strong> Writing down my thoughts and describing my adventures to tell my family about later helped to alleviate my homesickness. Plus by journaling I also had a detailed recollection of all the amazing places I experienced abroad. Bring a small journal in your daypack to record your journey \u2013 the Smash<\/a> book is a great way to keep things together as you\u2019re going along!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        1. Stay Connected:<\/strong> It is easy to take effortless communication for granted with low-cost data coverage and unlimited Wi-Fi in the U.S. Knowing that my communication would be limited for days or weeks at a time seemed daunting at first, however, staying connected was definitely not impossible. FaceTime<\/a>, iMessage<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a> and Skype<\/a> are great for video chat and free texting when you have a Wi-Fi connection. And if this isn\u2019t enough you can always look into local SIM cards and international plans too.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Ashley Carlisle, the Florida Down Under marketing intern, writes: Though I had waited years for the opportunity to study abroad, I still had reservations about having limited communication and not knowing anyone else. But I knew I could not forgo such an amazing opportunity because of a little apprehensiveness. I jumped in at the deep end and was so glad…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,23],"tags":[98,83,84,48,85],"class_list":["post-3647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2014-15-interns","category-australia-north-queensland","tag-australia","tag-florida-down-under","tag-north-queensland","tag-study-abroad","tag-university-of-florida"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3647\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auip.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}