Ups and Downs of Abroad

Being abroad for a semester is great; you live in another country, you travel the world, you meet new people. Studying abroad also, however, has a down side. At least for me, I had a lot of alone time to do nothing. Study abroad is not nonstop traveling. There were days that I sat in my room, watched tv, and got on facebook. It is a give and take thing: you sacrifice some friends and family back home for a semester, as well as the activities your home university offered, for the chance to travel the world and try new things. It is a great way to step out of your shell, and learn about who you are away from the people you've always been around. In Bangor, I took part in a course called Outdoor Pursuits, where I took advantage of the landscape and participated in activities such as rock climbing, mountain climbing, canoeing, kayaking, and surfing. It was a great experience to be active and learn for college credit. Overall, Wales was a great experience. I missed home, but I used the time I had to learn about myself, and who I wanted to be.