Studying abroad is great! It allows you to get to know yourself, the country you’re in, the United States and your hometown a whole lot better.

I’ve had the opportunity to live and study abroad before coming to Linfield and I absolutely loved it. You get a better understanding of another country, culture and way of life. Even though we all think we have our own ideas of how other people live, it’s completely different than what we could ever imagine,

regardless of how much research we do or how many people we talk to beforehand. Nothing can really prepare you for the new adventure that you will embark on while studying abroad. Each study abroad opportunity is different and you learn so many new things about yourself that you probably did not even know you could know about yourself.

Studying abroad is a lot easier and less stressful if you remain open-minded and go with the flow. The more you resist, the harder it is to enjoy yourself and have fun. You will learn new ways of doing things you would have never thought that may even be better than how you previously performed a task.

You will truly understand how fortunate you are to be able to study abroad or even to be receiving an education. You will realize all of the little things you took advantage of at home because you won’t have them while you are gone, and you will find a newfound appreciation for them.

I lived in New Zealand when I was younger and the experience was a lot different than when I studied abroad in Europe after graduating high school. Life as a kid is much simpler than as an adult. Kids have less to worry about and are much more accepting of strange things compared to when you are an adult.

Now I am so glad I had that experience and I want to go back to New Zealand one day.

I chose to study abroad in Germany as a gap year after high school because the opportunity arose and I knew I wouldn’t ever get one like it again. I went not knowing anything about the German language, but I learned just by being there. I learned so much more from my host family and my friends that I would have never been able to learn in a classroom. I also learned a lot about myself. I am planning on studying abroad here at Linfield and I think that everyone should at least consider it.

Kiera Downs / Staff writer

Alyssa Townsend can be reached at [email protected].