Socializing While Abroad

Welcome back to my blog. This week I am going to talk about the social aspect of studying abroad. This is a big part of studying abroad because interacting with people and talking to the locals will teach you more than you ever thought. I encourage everyone to travel with someone they know, but I also encourage everyone to talk to and go out with people they have never met before. I found that one night out with the locals was better than 2 nights just with someone you know. The first thing is that you will learn about their culture and how they do things. You will learn new games, toasts, and drinks. You will find that the social aspect of life is a big deal abroad and you need to experience it.

When you are abroad you will find that life is much more relaxed than it is here. It was put to me this way. “Americans life to work, we work to live”. In other words as Americans we work to much and don’t have as much of a free time or social life. When I was in England it seemed that the shops opened later and closed early suggesting that they don’t work as long of hours as we do and they don’t worry about work like we do. I can not explain how this concept has changed my life and I know when you experience it for yourself you will too.

My suggestion for finding a social life while you are abroad is just go and have fun. Drinking is a big part of college life, and when you are abroad drinking is much more excepted than it is here. Having a drink with friends after work is an everyday thing. A social drink is a big part of their life and they have many places to go for this. Where I went (Bristol, England) they had over 185 bars and it wasn’t that big of a town. I drank with some of my professors and other people in the community. Making friends abroad is an easy thing to do and these friendships can last along time. I still talk to people in
England and they are coming to visit America soon.


I have told you that you will learn much more from the locals than you ever thought. Well this is very true. The customs and the way the look at life is much different than ours. You will see this first hand and take it all in. I also encourage you to talk to many people from other countries. I talked to a gentleman from Scotland when I was there and it was very interesting to find out his thoughts on America. The thing that shocked me the most was how much they knew about American politics. They know more about our political leaders than I ever want to.

Thank you for reading this week. Please read more of my blogs to find out helpful information about studying abroad. If anyone has any quesitons or anything you would like me to write about please don't hesitate to contact me. Thanks and have a good week.