Advice from Abroad

Some advice for people who go abroad in the future, and maybe some tips for their friends.


If you can at all help it, please avoid any and all drama that may try to work its way into your studies when you travel abroad.  This especially includes any relationship matters!

There can be a lot of drama when living with a large number of international students.  Lines are drawn, friends are made, and gossip can really work its way around.  Stay away from crap like that, unless you actually enjoy it, and try to focus on your studies.  Thankfully, I don't have to deal with that too much and most of the people I interact with don't seem to have any big problems with anyone.  Well...there is this one person, but everyone can't stand her, so it all works out fine! ^_^

Keep in touch with your friends who go abroad.  While they may not contact you, they will reply to any messages sent to them while they are away.  It's crazy to think that someone took time out of their day to think about you when you are running around trying to socialize and learn a completely different language.  It also makes us feel guilty about not contacting you sooner because we were so wrapped up in what we were doing.

Do everything you can to hang out with as many native speakers as possible!  It might suck your money lower than you would like, but you can consider it a school expense as long as you spend your time trying to learn about the culture and speak the language.  At least...that's what I tell myself when I have to ask the bank for money.

Study with classmates or other international students.  Usually, they can teach you something the teachers haven't or explain things in a way that makes more sense to you.  Especially when it comes to kanji!!  The more kanji you know in Japan, the better you will be able to get around on your own.

Okay, I think that is it for my random idea of advising people about things abroad.  Probably because I am currently typing this in English while chatting with some friends in Japanese.  My wires are getting crossed!! >.<