{"id":3522,"date":"2018-12-06T13:14:32","date_gmt":"2018-12-06T13:14:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/?p=3522"},"modified":"2022-04-13T15:42:21","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T15:42:21","slug":"studying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/studying\/","title":{"rendered":"StuDYING!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before I start this post I just want to make it clear that my aim is not<\/strong> to put you off doing a year abroad at all, but I feel I need to be brutally honest about my experience here so far. Bear in mind I have been here just over two months which, in the grand scheme of things, is not really very long. Things have already stared to improve from what they were like at the very beginning of my time here in Verona. <\/p>\n

The first thing I want to talk about is reason I\u2019m here: uni<\/strong>.
\nIf I\u2019ve learnt one thing being in Italy it\u2019s that I was absolutely spoilt at university in Cardiff. The amount of help and support I received in Cardiff was incredible compared to what I receive now. And don\u2019t get me started on the lack of organisation here\u2026But everything is positive: this is preparing me for life after university when I won\u2019t be spoon fed everything and \u2013 heaven forbid \u2013 I might actually have to do something for myself.<\/p>\n

All my friends and family back home take the mick, having only seen the photos of me having the time of my life on my year abroad. But what they don\u2019t see are the days when I haven\u2019t understood a word of my lecture, I don\u2019t know what my exam is about or when I\u2019m meant to hand in my latest piece of homework, because obviously it would be a bit weird to post a picture of me crying in the library on Instagram, wouldn\u2019t it? It\u2019s actually a bloody big deal<\/em> to move to a different country and study at a university that uses completely different methods of teaching and grading to what I\u2019m used to in my little Cardiff bubble. Trying to concentrate and make notes as well as listen to a lecturer you\u2019re not familiar with, in a language you\u2019re still trying to grasp, in a dialect and accent that you\u2019ve never heard before is difficult. Full stop. <\/p>\n

BUT (I know you\u2019ve been waiting for sad Sally to get lost), after the first few weeks I could feel myself understanding and learning more about the topics I was studying as well as the language. <\/p>\n

Perseverance
\nis
\nkey<\/strong>! <\/p>\n

Another thing that people incorrectly think is that you need to be out having fun and meeting people all the time. But that\u2019s not true. No one has that much energy!
\nAs clich\u00e9 as it is, your year abroad is the perfect time to find yourself (cringe). I personally am very good at being on my own, and I enjoy my own company sometimes (I promise I\u2019m not a saddo). Whether it\u2019s exploring the city, studying or just watching Netflix, learning to be comfortable in your own company is a valuable skill to have. I have watched an impressive (I am a glass-half-full kind of girl) amount of Netflix, though… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before I start this post I just want to make it clear that my aim is not to put you off doing a year abroad at all, but I feel […]","protected":false},"author":1632,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[268],"tags":[42,249,90,195],"class_list":["post-3522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe","tag-erasmus","tag-europe","tag-studying","tag-university"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s4QQbz-studying","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3461,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/if-you-are-thinking-of-studying-abroad-do-it-daisy-from-sfsu-on-studying-at-cardiff-university\/","url_meta":{"origin":3522,"position":0},"title":"“If you are thinking of studying abroad, DO IT!” – Daisy from SFSU on studying at Cardiff University","author":"Global Opportunities Globetrotters","date":"July 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"My desire to travel brought me to studying abroad. 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