{"id":3601,"date":"2012-06-13T08:20:11","date_gmt":"2012-06-13T13:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.studyabroad101.com\/?p=3601"},"modified":"2022-09-06T10:27:33","modified_gmt":"2022-09-06T14:27:33","slug":"study-do-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.studyabroad101.com\/blog\/2012\/06\/study-do-over\/","title":{"rendered":"If I Had a Study Abroad Do-Over"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Angie<\/a>
Angie Orth, courtesy of angieaway.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today we have a very special guest on our blog. We are honored to feature the lovely and VERY well travelled Angie Orth, who studied abroad in Paris back in 2003. Today Angie has a successful travel blog that documents her jaunts through the slums in Kenya to gelato in Rome and everything in between. We asked Angie if she could reflect a bit on her own study abroad experience and how it’s shaped who she is today. Here’s what she had to say.<\/p>\n

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Life changing doesn’t begin to cover what my study abroad experience in Paris meant to me. I wasn\u2019t always the gung-ho, adventurous, up-for-anything world traveler I am today. Boarding a plane and flying across the Atlantic all by myself was terrifying at the time, but it was the beginning of a lifetime of exploration.<\/p>\n

While my program was a dream come true, I do have a few aspects I would change if I could do it all over again.<\/p>\n

\"Angie<\/a>
The City of Lights courtesy of angieaway.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stay Longer.<\/strong> I wish I\u2019d spent more than five weeks abroad. When I was a junior in college, signing up for a five week program was daunting and at that point, it was likely the most adventurous thing I\u2019d ever done. I\u2019d never traveled by myself and my family was terrified of me going solo, so a tiny program seemed like a manageable first step.<\/p>\n

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But it just wasn\u2019t enough. Paris itself warrants much more than a month and change to experience, not to mention all the extra time I could\u2019ve spent seeing the rest of Europe on weekends via train. I’ve since been back to Paris five times and learned that one can never have too much of the City of Lights.<\/p>\n

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\"Angie<\/a>
Angie’s family came to visit her travels to Paris! Courtesy of angieaway.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Spend More.<\/strong> Finances were a huge concern while I was in Paris. I used a portion of my student loan to pay for the program and to be honest, I\u2019m still paying it off 10 years later. But keeping myself on such a strict and tiny budget confined me to fewer experiences and I could\u2019ve spared another $1,000 or so to see, do and taste so much more.<\/p>\n

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Leave Home at Home.<\/strong> Every single day in Paris, I pined for my boyfriend back in Florida. While I was on the Eiffel Tower, I wondered what he was doing. While I toured the chateaux of the Loire Valley, I counted the days until we\u2019d be reunited. The family I lived with in the 13th<\/sup> arrondissement didn\u2019t have a computer or WiFi in the apartment, so I spent a decent amount of time schlepping to the nearest Internet caf\u00e9 to email him.<\/p>\n

He promised to come visit during my program; he never did. Looking back at those five weeks with almost 10 years of perspective, I can see our differences so clearly. He wanted a comfortable life of ease and familiarity in a small town and I wanted… well, I didn’t know what I wanted exactly. But it wasn\u2019t the easy, well-worn road.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, the college boyfriend and I are ancient history by now. In hindsight, I really should\u2019ve left home at home, and focused more on my Parisian experience than what was going on back in the US.<\/p>\n

Ultimately my choice to go abroad was more than just five weeks studying French and photography in a foreign country \u2013 it was a life defining moment in time where I unwittingly chose the future of a fearless adventurer and left the familiar behind. Now, I’ve traveled around the world by myself, visited 40+ countries and have found a way to make a living doing what I love. I\u2019ve come a long way since the scared, shy, homesick gal who boarded a flight to Charles De Gaulle in 2003. And studying abroad was the first step.<\/p>\n

Angie Orth is a location independent travel writer, blogger and social media consultant. She\u2019s passionate about the Florida Gators, trying everything at least once and storytelling at www.AngieAway.com<\/a><\/span>. You can follow her worldwide adventures at www.Facebook.com\/angieaway<\/a> or on Twitter at @AngieAway.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Want to read insider reviews from fellow study abroad students? Click\u00a0here to find your perfect study abroad program!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Today we have a very special guest on our blog. We are honored to feature the lovely and VERY well travelled Angie Orth, who studied abroad in Paris back in 2003. Today Angie has a successful travel blog that documents her jaunts through the slums in Kenya to gelato in Rome and everything in between. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_ppma_block_editor_authors":""},"categories":[4,21],"tags":[178,211,265],"ppma_author":[682],"class_list":["post-3601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abroadadvice","category-stories-from-abroad","tag-long-distance-relationships","tag-paris-2","tag-summer-abroad","author-pwpadmin"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t