University of Arkansas Office of Study Abroad: Regrets? #HogsAbroad in England

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and did plenty of Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping! I don’t think Black Friday is a big deal here; some stores had sales, but I didn’t go to see if it was crowded or not. As far as updates go, this week is just same old, same old. I can feel the end of the semester approaching quickly, so I am scrambling to keep up with readings, finish my London ‘to-do’ list, and make last-minute travel plans.

This week I want to talk about something I’ve been keeping a list of as the semester has progressed. From the title, you may think they are my regrets, but regret is not the right word. Rather, I want to talk about some things I would have done differently regarding my term abroad. I wouldn’t say I have any regrets, but hindsight is 20/20 and I’m always looking for process improvements. I know there are a bunch of resources with study abroad advice or study abroad tips and tricks, but these are personal and particular examples I want to share.

First of all, I should have planned to have my mother ship me my winter clothes and other items, or at least should have shown up with more than a backpack. I’m not sure what I was thinking. Maybe four months just seemed like a short time, but I should have planned better. To be fair, I have a suitcase at home that I pre-packed with the best of intentions. However, by the time I found out my mother couldn’t visit (and bring the suitcase) I didn’t think it would be worth it to have her ship it. Let me tell you, it would have been worth it. I’ve learned to be resourceful and creative, but, the colder it gets, the more I want my North Face jacket.

Next, I would have been less apathetic about my accommodation. Once again, four months just seemed short, but I feel like my sanity could have been better preserved in a nicer living situation. I don’t recall being given many choices in accommodation, but I do remember not being picky. Knowing myself and my standard of cleanliness, I shouldn’t have left it up to chance and ‘hoped for the best.’ I would love to attach a picture for the people who think I may be exaggerating, but I wouldn’t want to disgust my readers. It’s really that bad. But yet, I’ll survive.

I also would’ve better planned out my weekend trips. To be fair, I wasn’t yet sure of my class schedule, but I should have chosen and ranked the places where I wanted to go most. Usually, when planning these weekend trips, I do it two weeks beforehand and just search Skyscanner for cheap tickets. Of course, I only picked places I wanted to go, but now with time running out, I realize there are places I should have prioritized.

Also, I wish I would have looked into renting a bike when I first got to campus. Relying on the bus system is aggravating and time-consuming, but more importantly, it only runs at certain times. Every time I’ve had an early flight or late arrival I’ve had to take a taxi to and from the bus station back to campus. It’s not a terrible distance, just too far to walk. I probably would make more of an effort to go grocery shopping or go to town if I had a more reliable mode of transportation. Oh well, it’s all been part of the experience!

Less significantly, I wish I would’ve kept stats on the number of planes, trains, taxis, etc., I took and how much time I spent in airports or just traveling. I was talking to my sister today and mentioned this because I feel like the number would be extraordinary. It wouldn’t be hard to count the number of flights I’ve taken (I’ll do that later), but time spent traveling would have been really cool to know exactly.

Lastly, I wish during all my travels I would have picked up a souvenir. At the beginning of my trip, I was very adamant about necessities only, so I didn’t consider buying something to take with me. I also would much rather spend my money on experiences or food, so it wasn’t a hard decision to make. But now, looking back, it would be so cool to have some visual representation of all the places I’ve been. I want to slap myself for not thinking of something simple like a patch to put on my backpack for each country or something like that. In reality, that’s cheap and easy to find. Yes, I can probably find country patches on Amazon, but it’s not the same. I’ll just have to treasure the memories, which is just fine.

So, after all that planning and organizing, I still didn’t get it 100% right, and that’s okay! I am my own worst critic, and everyone can relate to coming up with a good idea after the fact. But, I still think it’s important to share on the off chance someone can learn from my mistakes.

In more positive news, this weekend I was fortunate enough to go to Vienna, Austria.

Oh. My. Gosh.

It was absolutely breathtaking! The architecture, the music, the food, the art, the Christmas markets, everything! I felt like I stepped back in time and was in a movie from the 1940s. Vienna was the first place I really felt like I desperately needed more time. I tried to make the most of my time, seeing an orchestra, going to multiple Christmas markets, taking a sightseeing bus, and going to the Belvedere Museum to see works by Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele. I must go back!

Enjoy the pictures and have a wonderful week!