Just Go for it
The first thing they tell you is to make the most of every
opportunity. Annoying as it sounds it’s really useful advice. So, after having
followed this for a year now, when my boyfriend asked me to go to Asia with him
this summer, I decided to just go for it. Despite a). never having left Europe
before and b). the mammoth task of planning and booking everything. (and the fact I wanted to go to Marrakech this
summer but hey). But I just realised that’s there’s not going to be many more
summers where I can swan off for a month or have enough savings (thank god for
the British Council paying us a proper wage).
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| Couldn't miss this opportunity! |
What you don’t need to spend money on
Clothes, shoes, bags *insert any other material thing here*
- it’s just stuff that I won’t be able to fit back into my suitcase at the end
of the year! But seriously though, I’ve come to realise that experiences are
waay better than things and money doesn’t grow on trees so if I want to do all
that travelling and eating out #professionalbruncher (food is totally an
experience ok?) I have to not spend money on other things. It gets easier trust
me.
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| Would much rather spend money on this! |
Be more confident
Turning up alone to meet a whole bunch of people you don’t
know? Probably the worst thing I can think of. But being in a country on your
own, I had no other choice. So I had to man up and go meet random Italians off
the internet (it was a website called conversation exchange btw so not anything
weird). The more I did it the easier it became and although I’m always going to
be a quiet, shy person, I don’t avoid those kind of situations so much anymore.
I even put myself forward for the German committee this year at Uni- something
I really wouldn’t have done before this year. Also, standing up in front of a
group of teenagers trying to teach them english: Terrifying…. at first, but the
more I did it, the more I got used to it and realised that they weren’t
actually going to eat me and that it was actually pretty fun.
What it means to be
British and how to accept other cultures
It’s not just that I like milk with my tea and think
Cadburys is the best chocolate in the world. Oh no there’s much more to British
culture than that. it’s our way of being inherently awkward without trying, the
way we like to say sorry…for anything and everything and how even the briefest
glimpse of sun = summer so naturally you gotta get them shorts on and your cute
summer dress and find whatever patch of green space you can to “work on your
tan” (even though it’s not even like 20 degrees). But then when it is actually
summer, you’ll moan about it being too hot (throwback to me in Vienna when it
was 30+ degrees and I was pining for the sweet smell of rain!).
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| Was sooo hot! |
Being away from it all really puts it into perspective, so
that when that snooty Viennese waiter in the bow tie nonchalantly looks past
you for the 20th time , and when you do manage to order he makes
some sarcastic comment, you know he’s not actually being snooty or rude he’s
just being a Viennese waiter. Ie. Don’t take it personally, it’s just how they
are here.
Or when the woman on the checkout chucks your shopping
through the scanner at lightning speed, then somehow expects you to pay, while
simultaneously packing your bag so that she can start with the next customer
(which they will do anyway regardless), you know to chuck your stuff back into
the basket so you can take it over to the tables by the door and pack it away
(in the bag you brought with you) in a calm and sensible manner without
squashing your fruit.
How to survive in Austria? Sorted!
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| Key to survival - Radler obvs! |
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| and cake!! |
What I might want to do/not want to do in the future
Working this year has really
helped me understand what I enjoy doing and what I really don’t. Being sat on
my bum for 8 hours straight in an office: not fun. Staring at a screen all day:
also not fun. Translating: not the glamorous job I had envisaged. Teaching:
Rewarding, interesting but being a “proper” teacher (come on I worked 13 hours
a week) stressful! This year, I’ve also really got back into writing after
starting this blog (although I’ve been a bit naughty and not posted much whilst
being in Vienna). I’ve also written a couple of articles here and there for
websites like Thirdyearabroad.com (essential for anyone going on a year abroad), so maybe I want to do something
writing-related after Uni? I feel like people usually just pigeon-hole us linguists
into so do you want to be a translator or a teacher? But I now realize there are
plenty more options out there.
International friends
I think this is possibly one of
the best things about the whole year. Making friends from different countries,
is not only so interesting but also
means you get to go and visit them in their home town= win. (and a cheap
holiday!). And you get to play tour guide for them too! Even meeting people
from different parts of the UK has been awesome.
An incessant desire to travel
I always knew I liked travelling.
Just going to a new city would make my heart beat fast , eager to explore
everything new. But this year, this year has really done it. Never have I been
to so many countries in one year, actually I’ve never been to so many countries
in my entire life.
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| France (Strasbourg) |
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| Germany (Mainz) |
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| Italy (Milan) |
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| Austria (Innsbruck) |
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| Switzerland (Zurich) |
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| Czech Republic (Prague) |
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| Hungary (Budapest) |
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| Slovakia (Bratislava) |
There’s no way I can go back to
England and not have itchy feet!
So there you have it, a year abroad will teach you so much more than just the language. In fact, in some cases you might find yourself not speaking much of the language you came to learn ahem. EveryonespeaksenglishinVienna cough. And although I kind of regret this, because my Italian is waaay better than my German, I still learnt so much from my experience in Vienna. Not to mention all the fun I had in the process.
Yay for the year abroad!
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