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In her final blog, Evie reflects on her year in DC and highlights a few key areas she wished she had known before she arrived.
After nine months, it鈥檚 finally time for me to say my goodbyes to America. As I鈥檝e been packing up and moving out, I鈥檝e had a lot of time to reflect on my time in the US. Here are a few things I wish I knew before I鈥檇 arrived.
The system of education in the US is quite different, and it can take some time to adjust to it. It can be hard at first when it seems like everyone else in the class knows exactly what to do and how to do it well and you鈥檙e floundering. But remember that most of your classmates have been in the American education system for years, and you鈥檝e been thrown in the deep end in advanced university classes. Take your time, speak to your classmates and professors and really read through your syllabi at the start of the semester. American classes can seem demanding if you鈥檙e used to British university, but you are completely capable and able to get it done! Once you get the hang of it, it can be fascinating to try classes in fields you never considered before (I took one in Russian Cinema, for example).
Living in an American dorm is an experience like no other. Unless you鈥檙e very lucky, you鈥檙e probably going to end up with a roommate. This can seem strange at first: where do you go if you need a moment alone? Will you and your roommates get on? What if your schedules just aren鈥檛 compatible? All these thoughts went through my head before I moved in, but I found that I made my closest friends in America through living in the same suite, and leaving them to go home was one of the saddest parts for me 鈥� I鈥檓 already making plans to visit as soon as I can! Even if your roommates don鈥檛 become your best friends, my key tip is to put yourself out there and just take things as they come. All you can do is be friendly, brave, and respectful, and the excellent thing about an experience like studying abroad is that there will be other students in the exact same boat for you to befriend.
Finally, I would advise to consider your options for food and meal plans in your university. As exchange students we often have slightly different requirements than students who do their whole degree at the college, such as not being required to get university meal plans, which are paid-in-advance dining hall food packages. This will differ from college to college, so it鈥檚 important to confirm this with your institution (especially so you don鈥檛 end up without a meal plan if your dorm doesn鈥檛 have a kitchen!). There are pros and cons to a meal plan, so it鈥檚 worth thinking carefully about your lifestyle and the sort of things you鈥檙e going to be doing while you are abroad, for example: are the dining halls more convenient? Which would be more cost efficient for you? Do you have dietary requirements which might suit the dining hall or cooking in your dorm better? I had a meal plan for my first semester but chose to cook in my dorm鈥檚 kitchen in the second to save money and to make full use of the wonders of American grocery stores.
All in all, there鈥檚 a million things that I could change if I went back and started my year abroad again, but I wouldn鈥檛 change the experiences I had or the friends I made for anything. I鈥檝e grown so much as a person over the last year, and it has left me more ready than ever to tackle my final year at 香港六合彩中特网.