Tania Suarez Mendoza: Study Abroad or nah?

Before I boarded my 9hr Air Canada flight to London, England to spend 6 months in a city I only dreamed of visiting, I might have answered this question differently. While it still sounded promising, the idea of studying abroad seemed terrifying and almost impossible for me to do! You have to understand; I am someone who is more on the introvert side. I am not particularly involved in school activities and have a small group of friends. Walking into a class where I know no one was the most terrifying thing that could happen. Hence, studying abroad half way across the Atlantic Ocean was a bit outside my comfort zone. But once I did it, I would tell anyone to do it! Because if I can do it, you certainly can!

I can’t explain how much I gained from this experience, and how much I enjoyed it. It not just the places that I got to visit, but it is the people that I met and the moments and memories I made. It is cliché to say that it was the time of my life, and I hated when people told me this because it seemed to me that they were putting me under pressure. What if it wasn’t the time of my life? But it is the only way that I can explain it; it is the only way that gets close to describe what a great time I had!

Trip to Greece

 Studying abroad is all fun and games, but it is also something that you have to think about carefully because it is a lot of responsibility. Financially, it is something that you have to be well prepared for. Moreover, to me, it was the first time that I was living alone, as I live with my parents here in Vancouver. There are many aspects that I think I took for granted, and many do, because of the excitement of going abroad, but if you are serious about it, then certainly think about it and plan it out!  

Nevertheless, my answer to this question, is now, and will always be from now on, to do it! Go study abroad, and you will not regret it! 

Trip to Italy

Tania Suarez Mendoza is a Bachelor of Communications Studies student at Capilano University. Tania studied abroad at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, England.