Overall, my abroad experience has been fantastic and is something I think everyone should do at least once. A lot of the exchange students at the school I was at were talking about how being abroad has allowed us to become more independent, find new things we enjoy and simply force us to branch out more. It has been a really cool experience to learn how school works in other places besides the States. Not only the schooling aspect but having the opportunity to travel so much this past semester has been amazing. I felt like I had finally gotten a good schedule built and all of a sudden, the end of the school year was almost here.

Typically, the end of a semester is already a stressful/chaotic time. The end of a semester abroad is no different and in my opinion, is even more chaotic. There are so many small things that slowly creep up. You need to remember to check flight statuses and make sure nothing has changed or been canceled. An obvious one is studying and preparing for final exams. However, there are other things such as getting ready to say goodbye to the friends you’ve made while abroad, trying out any last-minute places in the city you’re staying in and realizing you’re about to leave a place you’ve grown to love. I’m not sure how exams take place everywhere, but in Manchester they are spread out throughout several weeks so instead of us all getting done the same week, some people were done by May while others weren’t done until June. This made saying goodbye a little easier because we didn’t have to do it all at once but only one or two people at a time. As important as school and exams are, one suggestion I have would be to make time to hang out with your friends. Whether that’s going out, grabbing coffee or even studying together. While some friends you’ve made might live in the States and you’ll be able to see them when you get back home, others might live on the other side of the world so don’t miss out on getting to see them as much as possible before school ends.

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: University of Manchester: Exchange