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So CliffsNotes now makes this…

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A fun way to get your apple a day!

I spent the spring semester of my junior year abroad, receiving college credit to essentially—mess around. The four months I spend in Europe were the most amazing times and adventures of my life, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. But I can’t say that I wouldn’t do somethings differently, looking back on my time there.

Here’s my list of things to try and things to avoid, so that all you CollegeCandy readers can have the best time ever.

initiating the gallery...

Are you going abroad this semester? Have you been abroad? What tips do YOU have?

Fact: College students love free stuff. Also fact: College students love Apple products.

Now, thanks to Vonage and their new Time to Call App (that makes international calls super easy and super cheap…what up, smart phone-using study abroad ladies!), you can win either a new iPad 2 or a $715 iTunes gift card. And nope, I’m not joking.

Want to learn how to get your hands on some amazing back to school technology? Check out the sites below on the corresponding dates for a chance to enter — and maybe win — a free iPad 2 of your own.

12-16 Aug:
Gear Live
Mobility Site

13-17 Aug:
Neowin.net
Geek in Heels
What the Tech

14-18 Aug:
Chip Chick
Gear Diary

15-19 Aug:
Digital Home Thoughts
Daily Social EN
Smallbiztechnology

16-20 Aug:
AuTechHeads
The Study Abroad Blog

17-21 Aug:
Her Campus

And check back later this month for a chance to win right here on CollegeCandy!

Dale Stephens, a 19-year-old self-proclaimed “education expert” who’s been featured on CNN, Tech Crunch and the New York Times (just to name a few), begs to question the significance of a degree in today’s entrepreneurial economy. Along with his colleagues Erich Sparks and David Mattingly, Stephens has developed Uncollege, a program that promises a full college experience that requires no tuition, textbooks, classes or dorm rooms.

So what’s the catch? That little sheet of paper we all dream of: a degree.

Now, I can relate to Stephens because I, too, was skeptical about buying into the college system. I was scared by mountains of debt and the narrowing job market. I applied last-minute to a state school  and I can honestly say I’m proud of my decision. Yes, I sometimes feel like I’m not learning anything in some of my classes. Yes, I’m going to graduate with a considerable amount of debt. Yes, there have been moments when I’m worried I’m wasting my time and that I’ll never get my dream job, but there’s one thing I don’t worry about: the amount of respect I get as someone working towards a degree and the amount of respect I’ll receive as someone that has a degree.

Like Stephens, I wanted to take time to explore the world, meet new people, start my own business and prove to the world that I could be just as successful- if not, MORE successful- than someone who went through all the trouble of trying to get a degree, but when I told my friends and family about my plan, I went from being the motivated girl with major potential to the girl that “just gave up.” The lack of respect was heartbreaking.

According to the official UnCollege “curriculum,”participants are required to write bucket lists, read texts of foreign philosophers and scholars you’re unfamiliar with, study abroad, learn a second language, attend a conference, become a mentor, volunteer at a non-profit organization, among tons of other activities that will give you the college experience without the tuition bill. But looking back at that list- aren’t those all things that most of us do at college anyway? Sure, we might not be able to cover the whole list, but we all know that college isn’t JUST about getting a degree- it’s about opening doors and creating pathways to your future.

I get where Stephens is coming from with all of this. The experiences you have outside of class and outside of your campus will build your character and improve your resume, but let’s be honest- your resume is going to be looked down upon and compared to other people’s in a negative matter no matter how many times you volunteered, or how much you learned about yourself while spending a “semester” in India.

Moral of the story? That little piece of paper, although hard to get and way too overpriced, is your proof that you put in the work and made huge sacrifices in order to build a positive future for yourself. I don’t know about you, but I don’t ever want to be know as “the girl who just gave up” ever, EVER again.

I had the time of my life abroad this past semester. I got to travel everywhere, study interesting topics and meet an amazing group of people. But being in a foreign country really made me appreciate America and just about everything I used to take for granted. No, I’m not talking about the cliché of missing peanut butter (which seems to be readily available in a lot of foreign countries these days anyway) but those little things you might never think about until they’re gone and then they suddenly become everything you think about to the point that you want to tear out your hair and scream at an unsuspecting foreign stranger:

1.) Functioning Internet: My friends and family thought I had fallen off the face of the earth. No, Mom we can’t Skype tonight, you should know better than to ask. What? You think I can just get online whenever I please? Right. As soon as I reached Amurica, I opened 12 tabs in Firefox all at once and started googling, just because I could.

2.) 24 Hour Safeways: Don’t get me wrong; I can get down with the idea of siestas. But closing the store around lunchtime? That’s just silly. And to top it off, the supermarkets would close for the day at a pathetic 9pm. The number of times I broke into a sprint to make it to the store, only to find the manager decided to shutdown at 8:52 that evening is remarkable. Needless to say, a lot of pregames were ruined.

3.) Beautiful Green Money: In Europe, if you drop a coin you basically just lost 5 dollars. Euros are all different sizes and colors. The monopoly money was a novelty at first but I grew to miss bills that were a subtle green and all a uniform dimension.

4.) And More Importantly, Debit Cards: Cash is a pain. I don’t like dealing with coins and bills going every which way in my wallet, ATMs or transaction fees. Even when the stores allowed plastic, I received disapproving and irritated looks when I handed my card over.  Back home, I felt such a rush when I purchased a $2.73 coffee and didn’t have to awkwardly shift through my wallet to find change but just eagerly gave the barista my debit.

5.) Men Who Wear Deodorant: Enough said.

6.) Orderly Lines: These just don’t exist. Really. It’s seriously annoying but I wasn’t about to confront the little Italian grandmother who thought it was OK to cut around 15 people in the bakery… even the 100^th time it happened.

7.) Sports At Reasonable Hours: There’s nothing like a 1am Superbowl kick off to get you pumped for the game. And it only got worse from there. West coast hockey matches left me setting an alarm for 4 in the morning. Of course I couldn’t stream the game  (see number 1) but was left following live blog updates that would refresh once about every 9 minutes. Being a sports fan really has never been so difficult, but I refused to start watching soccer, excuse me, football to fill the void.

8.) Airlines On Which You Don’t Fear For Your Life: Never again Ryanair, never ever again.

9.) Easy Communication: My lost in translation moments didn’t stop even when my language skills got a bit better. Study abroad students, no matter how fluent, can be spotted everywhere struggling to order in a restaurant, or worse, attempting to spit out some small talk with a foreign hottie. And while those accents are cute and charming, sometimes they just make life difficult. Because let’s face it, even the Irish and Aussies are tough to understand when they have a few beers in them. 

10.) To Go: Of course, outside of America you’re not going to encounter Cheesecake Factory like portions. Mounds and mounds of Luau Salad might not be staring you in the face when you’re finished eating, but as college students we know better than to waste any food. Especially if you’re paying for it in foreign currency. I never thought I’d miss those tiny plastic boxes promising me lunch the next day, but trust me, they are a beautiful thing.

You lived, you learned, you loved. Now you are back at your home campus and in a total funk.  What happened to the campus you used to love and why is everyone rolling their eyes when you start telling hilarious study abroad stories? Coming back home after going abroad can be a surprisingly weird experience and it’s normal to experience reverse culture shock. While it’s great to look back fondly on your time abroad, it’s not okay to spend the next semester sitting on your couch all day, wearing a beret and watching Eiffel Tower specials on TV.

So, wow, can you reconcile your international experience with your stateside college life?

You first need to discard the expectation of total familiarity. Some things have likely changed at your college/home while you were away and you will have some catching up to do. Some changes are positive (a new dining hall or library) and some will be negative (a falling out in your old group of friends, your crush dating what’s-her-face). Remember that spending a semester in a foreign country required some sacrifice, but the experience was worth it.

The most important thing is to find a way to incorporate the positive aspects of your time abroad with the positive aspects of your campus or home life. You can join a culture club or conversation group, share your experiences with other returning students, or broaden your academic interests. I changed my minor to French and Francophone studies as a result of my time in Paris. This decision permitted me to keep practicing my French and benefit academically from the social and cultural knowledge I acquired while abroad.

Talking about your experience abroad can also present some challenges. The first thing to remember is to remind your friends and family that even though you enjoyed your experience, they were missed. Don’t forget to ask them about their semester since they surely have adventures of their own to share with you. Also, remember that not everyone has the opportunity to study abroad and factor this in to your conversation so that you sound appreciative about your experience — and not like you’re bragging.

If there are common misconceptions about the place where you were, it may be a good idea to prepare short answers to frequently asked questions. This way you won’t be caught off guard when people ask you questions that may sound ignorant (“Does everyone eat French fries in Paris?!”) or somewhat offensive.

While this might seem obvious, remind yourself that not everyone wants to hear about your semester abroad non-stop. You should generally wait until you are asked before you bring it up, or at the very least, only talk about it in moderation. If you really feel home-away-from-home sick, find places where you can talk about your experience with other students with international experiences. You might also think about counseling students going abroad next semester by participating in a panel or forum. You are a valuable source of information for your fellow jet-setting classmates!

You can also trade your non-stop commentary for more fun ways to share your experience with friends and family. Cook them traditional dishes you enjoyed, teach them a card game you learned, or share some new music with them.

Lastly, seize the opportunity to see your campus with a fresh set of eyes. You have most likely developed new attitudes, habits, beliefs and goals. Use your experience to see your campus life more objectively and to make even better decisions.

As long as you accept that things won’t be exactly the same when you come back home and incorporate the best aspects of both experiences into your life, you can minimize reverse culture-shock.

So, school is coming to an end soon. That’s good, right? Yes…and no. On the one hand, you’re done with paper-writing for a few months. Hollaaaa! On the other hand, you still need to figure out what you’re going to do this summer. Job? Internship? Job and internship?

Yeah, that sounds fun. Not.
The good news is, those aren’t your only options.

What about studying abroad?
Even better, what about studying abroad in the Galapagos Islands?

Yeah, I’m being totally serious. While the rest of your friends are tanning on their front lawns or working at the same CVS they have every summer since high school, YOU could be exploring one of the world’s most biodiversified and beautiful lands known to man! And you can earn 12 college credits while doing it. Not only will you be learning about Latin America and the environment of the Galapagos Islands, you’ll get to surf, snorkel, Scuba dive, hike, bike, horseback ride, and so much more. SO much more. Your summer can’t possibly get any more productive (and awesome) than that.

Now, I bet you’re wondering how you can make this happen. And it’s all very simple. The Isabela Oceanographic Institute (IOI) and the University of Miami (UM) joined forces to make a summer abroad experience like this one possible for students like you. (That is, students who are chomping at the bit to do something different, adventurous and incredibly interesting.)

And just to sweeten the deal a bit (as if the deal needs any more sweetening), if you sign up for this program by Friday, April 8th you’ll get a $1600 per class stipend! That means $1600 off your tuition for each class just for signing up.

And why wouldn’t you? Snorkling in one of the most beautiful places on earth sounds way better than making copies for someone who won’t remember your name at the end of the summer when you ask them to write you a recommendation. At least, I’d hope so….

For more information, visit the website or email Johann Besserer, the Executive Director: johann@ioi-galapagos.org.

Here are a few types of people you will most likely have the pleasure (or displeasure) of getting to know on your study abroad adventure…

The Complainer: Complainers will be in their element while traveling abroad. You would be surprised how many opportunities to complain arise while traveling; train seats can be uncomfortable, pastries can be too creamy (or, god forbid, not creamy enough), flowers can be allergy-provoking, the hostel doesn’t have wi-fi and they can’t get on Facebook, and oh so much more. You may see a beautiful beach in Australia but The Complainer sees a sunburn waiting to happen with a side of “The sand keeps getting in my eyes”.

The “Native”: “Natives” will claim to have a strong connection to the country where you are studying, but such claims will be based on hazy, indirect familial or personal ties. Wait, your great-uncle’s second cousin grew up in London? You’re practically a British native! “Natives” will be quick to correct your pronunciation of the language spoken where you are studying, and will seem to have a superior understanding of the culture (that they will not hesitate to share with the rest of the group).

The Self-Proclaimed Travel Expert: Self-Proclaimed Travel Experts are similar to “Natives”, but go one step beyond because not only are they experts on the place you are studying, but will also deem themselves experts on traveling in general. Oftentimes, extensive travel experience as a child will create a false sense of overconfidence in their ability to advise on any situation that may arise while traveling. Interestingly enough, these Self-Proclaimed Experts will appear to know exactly how bus or train systems work wherever you may be (despite never having visited this country before) and will inexplicably know the best neighborhoods to stay in and the best restaurants in town in EVERY town you visit.

The Type-A Leader: Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with doing extensive planning before embarking on a vacation. In fact, it’s preferable to have your trip planned out than get to a city and end up sleeping on a park bench using your backpack as a pillow. However, Type-A Leaders will exhibit planning tendencies that are perhaps a bit too intense for a college study abroad trip. After waking us up from our 5-hour night of sleep in a sketchy hostel in Amsterdam, the Type-A Leader from our group hustled us out the door to begin on the busy itinerary she had planned. When my friend said she wanted to stop in a café to grab a quick bite to eat, Type-A Leader, without slowing down her powerwalk, retorted “There will be time for lunch after the Tulip Museum”. We trekked on.

The Out-of-Control Rager: Partying is a given on any study abroad trip (even though most of us wouldn’t want to admit this to our parents!), but the Out-of-Control Rager will out-party anyone else on your trip. You will think you had a crazy night out in Madrid until you hear in class the next morning that the Out-of-Control Rager woke up on a beach… in Portugal. The best part about this person is listening to them come up with explanations for their behavior. In my experience, the Rager will make up cultural explanations that are often based on inaccuracies such as “French people always party so hard that they pass out in the bar” or “In Switzerland it’s actually not considered a bad thing to give guys lap dances in clubs”. Expect to have to lend this person your notes from the classes that they will inevitably miss.

The best advice when dealing with any of these personality types is to focus on your own trip and try to have the most amazing time possible. When you feel like strangling The Self-Proclaimed Expert or lecturing The Complainer about how they aren’t appreciating the incredible 14^th century village you are touring, just remember that their attitudes shouldn’t affect your trip.

Hopefully seeing these descriptions will help you avoid becoming one of these people yourself. To reiterate, just because your best friend from middle school had an Italian last name doesn’t make you a native in Italy. Just relax and enjoy the pasta!

KugelHopf. Terrible name, heavenly treat.

There’s a whole lot to love about Oz, but there are definitely four things you MUST know about this glorious country on the other side of the world. And no, I am not talking about Vegemite. G to the ross.

1) Tim Tams. Lucky for you, an around the world trip isn’t necessary to get your mouth on these amazing cookies (or as the locals call them, Biscuits or Bickie’s); they’re available at Target and Cost Plus World Market! Dark Chocolate and Caramel are my favorite two flavors. Mmmm. And of course, you must try the Tim Tam Slam. Bite a whole at each corner of the Tim Tam and use that as the yummiest straw ever in your morning mocha. Just thinking about it makes me melt inside.

2) Australian Licorice, most preferably by Darrel Lea. (Nab ‘em on Amazon!) Seriously their licorice is like taking Twizzlers Pull n’ Peel and condensing 4 of them into one yummy, chewy, delicious bite size piece. Yeah, like that, but then also 5 million times better. They have tons of flavors from Mango to Pineapple, Strawberry and Green Apple, which are all incredibly addicting.

3) At a random bakery, Monarch Cakes, in Melbourne Australia, I tried the most heavenly dessert that I have ever had: Gugelhopf (or sometimes called KugelHopf). The one I had was pastry dough filled with oozing dark chocolate that dripped out. ZOMG. Words can’t do it justice, but it’s actually a German/Austrian dessert, so Google for your local bakeries and find one of these bad boys stat. I can’t believe I’ve been missing out all these years! Trust me, you will feel the same now that you know about it. I mean look at that beauty (pic above!). Whoever says food is not art has clearly not seen this picture.

4) Australian men. We know they are hot. We know they have hot accents. But what I didn’t realize was that the guy/girl ratio in Aussie Land is probably something like 9 to 1. Seriously, the bars are lined with hot, nice, well dressed Aussie dudes. And the best part? They find our accent as cute as we find theirs. So take it from me and book yourself a trip. And for those of you heading off abroad there, there is literally no way to leave that country without, like, 12 of your very own Aussie boy toys. For those of you stuck in the grand ol USA have no fear – the Aussie men love themselves a trip abroad right here to this fine country. Their fave places? LA, San Fran, NYC, Miami and Vegas, so start booking up those Spring Break trips, ladies. Who knows – maybe by next Spring Break you’ll have a free place to stay all the way over in Sydney.

You’re welcome, Mates.

[Everyone’s got a morning after story (though some are WAY worse than others) and we wanna hear yours! Send it over to us and we’ll post it – anonymously, of course – right here!]

I am currently studying abroad in an unspecified location in the world. We’ll just say… not in the U.S. (really narrowing it down there). My host university always organizes events at bars and such for students, but my roommates and I usually just pass on them because they just wind up being these huge all-American fests. But the other night we actually decided to go because this particular bar, in the red-light district, was serving unlimited free wine and beer between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. and, honestly, who could pass that up?

We did our usual pregame before the bar and all 4 out of my 4 roommates wound up getting wasted. Literally, couldn’t stand up, needed-to-borrow-the-flip-flops-I-conveniently-had-in-my-purse wasted. Mind you, it was only around 8 p.m. We hadn’t even left the house and I was already fully concerned about my roommates’ well-being, mainly because bouncers in this particular city are extremely strict with blatantly belligerent people trying to enter into their clubs (I wonder why…).

But I was worrying for nothing. Somehow all of us managed to get let in and the real (free) drinking quickly began. After we all scurried over to the bar to grab some drinks I wound up chatting it up with an adorable American guy for a really long time while all my roommates disappeared into another adjacent room. I wasn’t too worried though; it was a pretty small place. Only when I finally made my way over there, let’s say around 9:30 p.m., 2 out of the 4 girls were missing.

The 2 girls I actually found (we’ll call them Christine and Ally) were pretty much too drunk to notice/care that the other 2 girls (Kaitlin and Jane) had vanished and were nowhere to be found. Soon after, Christine started making out with some short, relatively unattractive man (something extremely uncharacteristic of her) and Ally was on the dance floor with some guy.

I tried to awkwardly interfere and bother them a couple times about our lost roommates, but they just kind of told me to not worry about it. So, I went to find a quiet spot in the bar to call Jane, one of the MIAs. After I talked to her, I found out she decided to just up and leave for home without telling any of us. I kind of thought she sounded a bit strange because she wasn’t responding to most of my questions, but I (wrongly) assumed I just woke her. Ally then frantically grabbed me and told me we needed to leave because she just got a call from a nearby police station that said they were with our other lost roommate, Kaitlin.

I somehow pried Christine away from her man and the two of us wound up waiting up against this pillar in the bar while Ally quickly ran to the bathroom. I then noticed Christine’s eyes were kind of closing and she appeared to be taking a bit of a nap. The security guards were apparently not big fans of this kind of behavior because they kindly escorted her out of the bar. I obviously followed closely behind.

Once Ally met us outside, we took a cab to the police station, where we were told that the cops had already taken Kaitlin home.

So we grabbed a cab back to our apartment. Everything was going just fine until I felt a few wet drops hit me on both my neck and chest. At first, I assumed it was just rain or something (even though the windows weren’t open. I was full of all sorts of interesting assumptions that night). But then I saw Ally put her hand on Christine’s back as she opened the window.

Between that and the rancid smell, what was really going on was becoming all too clear.

The cab driver was surprisingly pretty cool at first and didn’t seem to mind that there was literally puke all over his backseat. Ally and Christine were also covered in quite a decent amount of it as well. Having just been splattered, I guess I lucked out. But as he finally realized what was going on, the cabbie mumbled something about a “cleaning fee for our troubles” and hiked the meter up to EIGHTY DOLLARS.

We all got out and were making our way down the street towards our apartment when Christine decided to just take her puke-covered dress off in public. She walked into our apartment complex in nothing but a bra and some lacy underwear. Fine, I guess; it was late and no one was awake to see the show. Only when we got to our floor, the elevator doors opened up to who else but two (fairly young, attractive) cops.

“What are you covered in?” They asked, eyes darting back and forth from my nearly-naked roommate to my covered in red-wine puke roommate.

I casually pushed Ally and Christine towards the direction of our apartment (while managing to get my hand covered in puke from Ally’s back) to try to keep us all out of any more trouble. I did my best to ignore my disgust and sweet talk the officers by saying something like, “Oh, you know. We’re fine! Long night. Uh… I’ll take care of them. Thanks for everything! Have a goodnight!”

We finally got into our apartment. There was glass shattered all over the floor leading to my bathroom and very few lights on (we later discovered this was Jane’s drunken doing). I took a peak into my bathroom and found Jane hovering over the toilet bowl while Kaitlin was safely tucked away in bed, courtesy of the fine police.

It was 11:15 p.m.

[You think that's bad? Check out our other cringe-worthy Morning After stories.]