From Admission to Adventure: What I Wish I Knew Before My Summer Abroad

Sarah P.

Last February, I was overjoyed to receive an email informing me of my admission to the Beijing Summer Abroad program. Studying abroad in China had been a dream of mine since high school, and I was thrilled at the prospect of fulfilling both this dream and a full credit towards my degree at the same time. I announced my summer plans to my friends and family with excitement and pride, and romanticized a warm and sunny Beijing summer as I trudged through the Toronto snow on my way to class.

As the snow melted and my Beijing summer approached, however, I became increasingly daunted at the prospect of travelling abroad on my own. Adding to my apprehension, I was travelling to a country I had never been to, with a local language that I could not speak comfortably. The distance between Toronto and Beijing became tangible: I was travelling 10 000 kilometers out of my comfort zone. As May approached, I began to question whether I could handle something of this magnitude all by myself.

In the end, however, I took the leap of faith, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. Putting myself in a new environment, it turns out, is the best way I can push myself to grow. I went to Beijing to learn about China and the world, but my most valuable takeaways were about myself. My learning did not end in the classroom: from the moment I stepped into the Beijing airport to the moment my return flight took off, I was continually discovering new things about myself. While I’m eternally grateful for the way my experience unfolded, and the insights I gained from it, there are a few things I wish someone had told me before I went abroad:

1. Know what travel documents you require in advance, and make preparations accordingly. If you need a visa, make sure to apply early, and do your research on the application process! (I learned this the hard way after showing up to the wrong location and forgetting to submit one of the required forms)

2. You don’t have to say yes to everything. It’s tempting to cram as many activities and sight-seeing trips as possible into your time abroad, and if this feels right for you, that’s great! But personally, taking time to slow down towards the end of the trip helped me enjoy the last couple action-packed days even more, because I was careful not to burn myself out. Additionally, while I am so grateful for all the amazing friends I made in Beijing, as an introvert, sometimes a solo outing is just what I needed to recharge my social battery. Knowing yourself and your boundaries will help you make the most of your time abroad.

3. Don’t worry if your language skills are not perfect. While I learned some Mandarin as a kid, I have always been self-conscious of my pronunciation and limited vocabulary. I specifically chose the Beijing program to force myself to practice my Mandarin, knowing that I would have to use it to communicate and get around. Despite this, during my first week in Beijing, I found myself relying on my friends to speak in public places, or staying quiet instead of challenging myself to participate in conversations, fearing I would be judged for my poor language skills. However, after finally getting myself to use my Mandarin, I realized that I was more capable than I initially thought, and the biggest judgement of my language skills came from myself, not others. If you’re travelling to a place where you do not speak the local language, I highly recommend pushing yourself to practice as much as possible - after all, making mistakes is the only way to learn.

4. The learning doesn’t stop in the classroom. While I did learn many new things through the course content, to my surprise, some of my most impactful learning experiences were outside of the scheduled lectures and field trips. On one occasion, for instance, my friend and I made a trip to Beijing University to visit a professor who had given a guest lecture. The excursion doubled as both a tourist activity, to see the historic Beijing University campus, and an educational experience, to learn more about the professor’s research area. Summer Abroad is truly an immersive learning experience, and I would highly recommend taking advantage of opportunities to expand your academic horizons.

5. Not every moment will be a highlight reel, and that’s okay. As the Social Media Correspondent for the Beijing program last year, I sometimes felt like every moment I documented had to be perfectly picturesque and aesthetically pleasing. But in reality, while there were many amazing moments that I am grateful to have documented, there are other moments that didn’t make it onto the feed: getting frustrated with myself for not being able to articulate my thoughts in Mandarin, waking up at 4 AM jet-lagged and mildly homesick every morning for the first week, and many more. I recommend documenting both the highs and the lows: not because everything needs to be shared, but because having a record of both will prove useful when you look back at your Summer Abroad experience, and realize how much you grew ✩