tell me about Study Abroad

[mchookem 16408]

anybody have experience with either themselves or their kids doing study abroad?

niece is in the honors college at UNT and is thinking hard about applying for their program which will be in Spain this summer. she's already met with the advisor who said she would almost certainly be accepted and it looks like they will basically give her enough scholarship money to cover like 90% of the costs. 

my immediate reaction is absolutely DO IT!! 😁 but that's likely me living vicariously through her 😊 i never did anything like that at her age. 

one big consideration for her is food...like for real - she's a 'recovering' anorexic (5 years). she's actually done really well this past year...but she's been hardcore vegan for the past 2 years as part of her eating disorder (something else to 'control'). i know the totally granola-munching-vegan type is a pretty uniquely American thing. i always think of it as a luxury in this country basically - we have so much excess that we get to make up ways to NOT eat things lol. 

i dont really know what the average Spanish diet looks like, and whether she will be able to eat enough to sustain herself. sounds stupid but given the past 5 years with her it's pretty serious.

[tx 3 putt 77535]

My sister did a semester just outside Mexico City. She loved it and came back fluent in proper Spanish. It matched up very nicely with her business degree. She just started a new job and being bilingual was a factor. 
 

my sister went down there with very similar diet / health concerns. She had zero issues. 

Edited December 7, 2021 by tx 3 putt

[Brisketexan 105438]

Well, you find a broad.  And you study her.  That was my major back in the day, I think.

[52-80 19263]

spanish cuisine is like the best in the world

[South Austin 52629]

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.

[NeverMarryAStripper 21943]

9 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

spanish cuisine is like the best in the world

So Spanish cuisine is like French cuisine?

[Mo Horn 8855]

Jamon Iberico is IMO one of the top 5 foods in the world, but there are plenty of vegan options in Spain. They do a lot of fruits and vegetables and other vegan staples so she shouldn't have any problems. Spain is a phenomenal country, so I'm biased, but I would never pass up a chance to live there. 

Edited December 7, 2021 by Mo Horn

[CooterBrown 18032]

My wife did a semester in Spain. The host family cooked a fuck load of food. She said when the mom made spaghetti it was about a pound each. She said she never ate as much as she ate there and she still lost 10 pounds from walking everywhere. That and from sweating in bed since there’s no AC.

Spanish food is actually very basic and lightly seasoned. Works well for picky eaters as long as they like seafood because there’s lots of it.

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

1 hour ago, mchookem said:

one big consideration for her ...

w/o getting too much into the details and you would be more privy to that naturally, I would say it depends. If she's been doing well for some time as you mentioned, then it's less likely that even a change in setting such as living overseas would be a trigger. Sometimes it's an issue of if the eating disorder has co-morbidities such as OCD, autism, or other spectrum disorders. One of my children actually did quite well away from our home town because everything was so novel in the new situation that it intensified the focus to what was immediate and real and there was no space for the 'bad' thought triggers.

I would advocate for it because she is a young adult and travel is a real opportunity to learn about the world for someone her age. It may give her a great deal of additional confidence given the obstacles she's already overcome.

[staboner 4988]

do it. every opportunity to travel is an opportunity to learn and grow

Quote

i know the totally granola-munching-vegan type is a pretty uniquely American thing

what is this ^?  not sure what you meant here but it strikes me as being quite out of place IMO

[elfenix 34338]

the olive oil is so good there that she'll eat 3000 calories of bread and olive oil every day. 

[52-80 19263]

56 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

So Spanish cuisine is like French cuisine?

French is the most overrated

[South Austin 52629]

49 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

That and from sweating in bed since there’s no AC.

Right.  The absence of AC was why she was sweating in bed.

[mchookem 16408]

59 minutes ago, staboner said:

do it. every opportunity to travel is an opportunity to learn and grow

what is this ^?  not sure what you meant here but it strikes me as being quite out of place IMO

just referencing the 'granola munching vegan' being a stereotype here...Americans have the worst diets yet we are obsessed with food movements/fads...gluten-free, non-gmo, keto, paleo, vegan, etc.

 

1 hour ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

w/o getting too much into the details and you would be more privy to that naturally, I would say it depends. If she's been doing well for some time as you mentioned, then it's less likely that even a change in setting such as living overseas would be a trigger. Sometimes it's an issue of if the eating disorder has co-morbidities such as OCD, autism, or other spectrum disorders. One of my children actually did quite well away from our home town because everything was so novel in the new situation that it intensified the focus to what was immediate and real and there was no space for the 'bad' thought triggers.

I would advocate for it because she is a young adult and travel is a real opportunity to learn about the world for someone her age. It may give her a great deal of additional confidence given the obstacles she's already overcome.

good point about shifting the focus to what is real and immediate. and she actually did something specifically for that last summer...she did an internship with a conservation corps company in southern Oregon which was basically primitive camping in the mountains for 3 months and tremendous physical manual labor. that experience has been a huge part of her recovery/improvement this past year...it basically transformed her mindset which is what she was after.

it (food) was just the only thing that gave us pause in fully supporting the idea...but i imagine she could do quite well on olives, bread and pasta 😁 me too!

thanks for reassurances!

 

Edited December 7, 2021 by mchookem

[next2naus 439]

3 hours ago, mchookem said:

 i know the totally granola-munching-vegan type is a pretty uniquely American thing

You don't travel much do you? 

[mchookem 16408]

i mean i do... just not internationally, or at least beyond the western hemisphere 😊 i just assumed most cultures, especially European, are much less susceptible to food fads/trends than Americans... but i'm happy to be wrong lol. someone upthread said Spain has plenty of vegan options, that was my only concern really 🙂

Edited December 8, 2021 by mchookem

[TornACL 7724]

Vegan eating is only a "fad" or "trend" in America because we're a bunch of fat slobs. Other cultures have been doing quite well in that arena far before some people here started discovering it. 

She sounds like she is doing well and ready to see the world and it's the best experience a young person can have, so no need to smother her in a blanket of worries. 

[Redneck Mutha 8017]

5 hours ago, South Austin said:

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.

*de plane

[BrazilHorn 6635]

If you want your kids to go to Euro EDM festivals, take a lot of drugs and have sex with British & Nordic chicks on holiday have them go study abroad.

[956 Worldwide 34794]

I studied abroad in Russia in the early 2000s. It was a balls to the wall good time, and something that not many people did. I took a flyer on the group study abroad in Western Europe. I would not recommend that now, it’s a different time in the U.S.-Russia relationship. But you can recreate that kind of adventure elsewhere. 

I am a bit skeptical of the “university moves to X,” model, but I do think seeing something more is good at that age. 

[Hermanator 7178]

On 12/7/2021 at 9:43 PM, BrazilHorn said:

If you want your kids to go to Euro EDM festivals, take a lot of drugs and have sex with British & Nordic chicks on holiday have them go study abroad.

I... I mean my friend, graduated college 15 years ago. How does one in that situation go about studying abroad?

[Chopper 17287]

On 12/11/2021 at 11:30 AM, Hermanator said:

I... I mean my friend, graduated college 15 years ago. How does one in that situation go about studying abroad?

Law school.

[SimonBolivar 10960]

On 12/7/2021 at 4:00 PM, tx 3 putt said:

My sister did a semester just outside Mexico City. She loved it and came back fluent in proper Spanish. It matched up very nicely with her business degree. She just started a new job and being bilingual was a factor. 
 

my sister went down there with very similar diet / health concerns. She had zero issues. 

No sabéis

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

1 hour ago, SimonBolivar said:

No sabéis

Sounds gay. NTTIAWWT

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

Just to follow-up here…if you have the opportunity to travel and experience another culture, you always, always take it. It can change your entire perspective on things and teach you things about yourself. It can change the trajectory of your life.

Or not, but at least you will know.

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

I am with everyone saying she should absolutely do it. After I closed my business in Austin and returned to UT for another degree, study abroad was the easiest and fastest way for me to go live in Brazil where my grandmother was from. It was one of the best years of my life. Also met my wife and now have two beautiful little girls.

[Mdhorn 5990]

On 12/7/2021 at 8:29 PM, mchookem said:

i mean i do... just not internationally, or at least beyond the western hemisphere 😊 i just assumed most cultures, especially European, are much less susceptible to food fads/trends than Americans... but i'm happy to be wrong lol. someone upthread said Spain has plenty of vegan options, that was my only concern really 🙂

American food has a lot of preservatives too.  Would be a great experience--just show some sense about going out and about on their own, and certainly not late night.    

[Bottlecap 1523]

I went to Denmark when I was 16 and could miss my first semester of my senior year of HS due to some weird transition of the way credits were gonna be applied going forward. I said fuck it, I'm not going to a half day of school like most of my classmates, so I got the fuck outta dodge. Best decision of my life. It changed my life perspective more than anything else i've done, kids aside. Absolutely tell her to do it and don't think twice about it, not for a second.

[gmr548 16617]

 

On 12/7/2021 at 7:29 PM, mchookem said:

i mean i do... just not internationally, or at least beyond the western hemisphere 😊 i just assumed most cultures, especially European, are much less susceptible to food fads/trends than Americans... but i'm happy to be wrong lol. someone upthread said Spain has plenty of vegan options, that was my only concern really 🙂

Spain is going to offer a monumentally more healthy diet and relationship with food than anything your neice has encountered in America. Veganism may be a meme here, but that's incredibly easy to accommodate in Mediterranean countries by just taking up the local cuisine. And It's 2021, there are going to be plenty of places advertising vegan options in a western country. Also Spain has grocery stores.

[mchookem 16408]

bump

so she's going...except now my sister is worried bc that part of the world looks a bit different the past few weeks 😕

i do not feel worried... but then I wonder if I should, like am I the one that's being naive...? 🤨

would any of y'all have qualms about your kid going to Spain right now?

[Mo Horn 8855]

None whatsoever

[Pato del Muerto 52616]

Spain is fine. Ask her to stay away from, say, Poland and any place that touches the black or caspian seas. 

[mchookem 16408]

thanks... just wanted to gut check myself 😊

[Bottlecap 1523]

nevermind

Edited March 10, 2022 by Bottlecap

[Sam Lin 3563]

11 hours ago, Mo Horn said:

None whatsoever

This. Go.

[mchookem 16408]

well...she's going! 😁 she bought her ticket last night... very exciting!

so turns out she was really. worried about offending her host family by not eating. she's been studying the cultural importance of food and meals there and it was giving her tremendous anxiety..she finally got up the nerve to talk to the advisor about it as that was the only thing still giving her doubt, and i guess he was very respectful and understanding and assured her the family would be advised and prepared.

once she felt better about that her mind was made up! 

what fun...man i wish i'd done something like that at her age 😊

[mchookem 16408]

oh, also...we had a French exchange student stay with us in 2017 and 2018, and they hung out and did stuff around Austin together...and she is now working in Italy and said she could probably take a train over for a weekend and visit my niece in Spain - how neat is that! 

[Brisketexan 105438]

Good deal, MC. My son (currently living in Berlin) is right now visiting his host family in Koblenz for the week, just to hang out. Truly a lifelong connection; we stayed with them on our last trip, and they’ll be visiting us in the next year. She’ll have friends on the other side of the world, and that’s a really cool thing to have.

[Mo Horn 8855]

8 hours ago, mchookem said:

well...she's going! 😁 she bought her ticket last night... very exciting!

so turns out she was really. worried about offending her host family by not eating. she's been studying the cultural importance of food and meals there and it was giving her tremendous anxiety..she finally got up the nerve to talk to the advisor about it as that was the only thing still giving her doubt, and i guess he was very respectful and understanding and assured her the family would be advised and prepared.

once she felt better about that her mind was made up! 

what fun...man i wish i'd done something like that at her age 😊

What city in Spain? Sorry if I missed that in one of the posts. 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

i did a study abroad in Spain and it was the best time of my life. 

sigh.

[mchookem 16408]

6 hours ago, Mo Horn said:

What city in Spain? Sorry if I missed that in one of the posts. 

it's only 6 weeks...half in Madrid and half in a city on the coast (omg jealousssss lol)...i think Valencia. 

[Sbbruin 21898]

My son is down to a couple of choices for college, with one of them being Northeastern.  If he goes that direction, his first year will be at the New College of Humanities in London.  Northeastern is already fuck all expensive, then throw this on top of it, and oof.  But I am all for it if he decides to do it.

[Chopper 17287]

20 hours ago, Sbbruin said:

My son is down to a couple of choices for college, with one of them being Northeastern.  If he goes that direction, his first year will be at the New College of Humanities in London.  Northeastern is already fuck all expensive, then throw this on top of it, and oof.  But I am all for it if he decides to do it.

If you want to feel maybe slightly better about how much you're spending...my neighbor's kid was offered a full ride for athletics to UCSD but the kid decided she didn't want to bother with being a college athlete and preferred to be in Eugene with mom paying all out of pocket.

[Brisketexan 105438]

If you want to feel maybe slightly better about how much you're spending...my neighbor's kid was offered a full ride for athletics to UCSD but the kid decided she didn't want to bother with being a college athlete and preferred to be in Eugene with mom paying all out of pocket.

I got nothin’ for this. That’s insane.

[ATexanAbroad 627]

I did it, I would encourage it. I think Americans need a lot more experience living in other cultures and places, it is only beneficial. It will be an important experience. Do it without question. Just don't be surprised when they take off for 5 years and don't come back.

[luke duke 6414]

*de plane

[Texzilla58 4744]

If you want to feel maybe slightly better about how much you're spending...my neighbor's kid was offered a full ride for athletics to UCSD but the kid decided she didn't want to bother with being a college athlete and preferred to be in Eugene with mom paying all out of pocket.

I feel so much better that my son went straight out of high school into the Air Force. His GI Bill will end giving him a BA and a masters and the USAF wants to pay for him to get an MBA. Not counting the responsibility,accountability, and great management courses he was provided while enlisted.

The education industry is a fucking racket.

[tx 3 putt 77535]

3 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

I feel so much better that my son went straight out of high school into the Air Force. His GI Bill will end giving him a BA and a masters and the USAF wants to pay for him to get an MBA. Not counting the responsibility,accountability, and great management courses he was provided while enlisted.

The education industry is a fucking racket.

 

that's freaking awesome. is his AF experience alone is enough to get him a great job ?

[RDCanecutter 26476]

If I were 20 again, I'd walk to Spain.

OK, maybe Mexico.

[mchookem 16408]

gah! i just hung up with our girl, she leaves for Madrid tomorrow... she's absolutely terrified but determined. and i'm the one crying right now lol. this brave, beautiful girl...my goodness. the best advice i could give her specifically...get out of your own head as much as you can and take in all that is around you!

she's been restricting for a couple weeks in the lead up to her departure, but she swears it's only bc she's anticipating gaining while she's there. we can only hope and pray at this point, it's been out of our hands for a while now.

her hostess is a yoga instructor, plus i helped her research all the outdoor 'calisthenics parks' that are apparently all over both Madrid and Valencia. that eased some of the extreme anxiety she was feeling specific to being able to exercise. the running...i dunno, i just told her to imagine running along the coast of the Mediterranean...😊😍

i just want her to live and enjoy the experience..and not come back 100 lbs 😒 🙏