The International Student Blog

It’s the middle of winter. Everything is covered in a fresh coat of pure, powdery snow. Perfectly blue skies reflect off of miles of White Mountains and hills. It’s a perfect day to go skiing – aren’t you happy you chose to study in Montana?

In Montana, where snowfall is year round, skiing is an extremely popular sport. Especially at higher elevations, it is common to see snow in the middle of the summer too. Some parts of the state can get up to 250 inches of snowfall during the course of winter. Though some might say Montana’s long, snowy winters are too hard to handle, Montanans have learned to embrace the season and its white splendor. If you are enjoy the wintery climate as an international student, Montana might just be the perfect place to study!

Taking advantage of Montana’s wild winters meaning taking advantage of the great skiing that the state has. Naturally, local Montanans learn to ski at a very young age. Many locals go on a daily leisurely ski. Others plan weekend getaways to go to popular ski areas. There are dozens of ski resorts in the state, where many tourists travel from very far places to visit. International students who study in Montana and spend months in the state often learn to ski and fall in love with the sport.

Montana’s many ski resorts have something for everyone – from novice children to Olympic professionals. The sport of skiing isn’t just about the skis, boots and poles. There’s an entire ski culture that is deeply embedded in the sport. Skiing always brings with it warm hot chocolates and cozy fireplaces after a long day out on the mountains. The ski community is very close; fellow skiers often know each other and go out to ski together.

If sliding on two sleek skis isn’t your thing, you might try snowboarding, or perhaps simply sliding down snow-covered hills on tubes or sleds. Whatever you choose to do in that fluffy Montana snow, you’re guaranteed to have a blast!

I recently finished an interesting book called The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. The author traveled to ten different countries in an attempt to figure out the so-called “secret of happiness.” The science of happiness is a fairly new area of study, but one that’s gaining steam. There are research studies done and journals published on the subject of what makes people happy. Weiner wanted to further investigate this topic by exploring different countries and figuring out if the people in them were happy, and if so, why.

Eric Weiner is a self-declared grump, so his semi-pessimistic attitude makes reading about his search for happiness ironically amusing. From first class hotels in Qatar to slums in India, he leaves no stone unturned on his search for the elusive emotion. He is willing to go to any length, whether it be eating harkarl (rotten shark) in Iceland, or meditating in an ashram in India.

I think this is a great book to read if you are planning to study abroad or just travel in general. It was funny, insightful, and kept me interested throughout all 400 pages. And even if you have no imminent travel plans, you’ll get to visit ten different countries during the course of the book!

This book gets you thinking about happiness, and if being in a particular place can determine or affect your happiness. I think that students studying abroad are often on an emotional roller coaster, with highs of having the time of your life and lows of feeling a little homesick. Reading a book about location-based happiness was really interesting, and if you have an interest in travel I highly recommend it!

If you want to find happiness while studying in the U.S., be sure to check out the state guide and get some ideas on where you could be happy!

Studying abroad is a fun and exciting experience, whether you are considering study abroad or have confirmed your plans, here are 10 things to do before studying abroad to make sure your trip goes smoothly from start to finish:

Research your destination

Knowing the basic language and customs and help you adjust quicker to your new home away from home. However, unlike planning your vacation, you will be living in a city rather than just visiting it. So beside choosing a guide book and seeing which attractions are worth visiting in your dream location, you would also want to research more practical things like how to get to the nearest grocery store or how to open a bank account.

Prepare Early

Make sure you have your passport well before your travel as it may take a while to be processed. You may also need to apply for a visa for your stay in your host country, talk to your study abroad advisor to see if they can help find out what documents you will need for the visa as well as any documents you will need for your school. If your school is not able to help you with your visa, try searching online for your destination country’s embassy website, they will have visa information available.

Let important people know you will be away

Especially your bank and credit card company. Most credit card companies will flag any suspicious transaction that occurs on your card and may put a hold on the account making it unusable. So if you forget to let them know and are traveling half way around the world, you may suddenly find that your card stops working after one use.

Sit down with your advisor

Set up your classes and make sure you will receive credit for them once you return home. This is usually not a problem if you are going on a well established study abroad program, but if you are choosing an exotic location or create a customize program for yourself you will need to make sure that you will receive the appropriate credit from your study at your host university.

Find additional funding for your trip

Studying abroad does cost money; many financial aids options are available through different sources including universities, governments and other organizations. International education financial aid can make paying for your living cost overseas much easier. Many loans can also supplement any scholarships you may have.

Taking Care of your Health

Before you leave make sure you take care of any medical/dental checkups that you need. If you need to travel with any medication make sure to have it filled. Many US domestic health insurance policies will not cover you while you are abroad, so make sure that you have an appropriate study abroad insurance in case you get sick or injured while away.

Know what your plans are after your trip

Many of us look forward to our trip abroad but over look what we need to prepare for once we have returned. So if you will graduate right away after you complete your study abroad – do you need to complete your job search before hand? Or will you return home and only then start your job search? If you will not graduate yet, will you need to set up your living arrangement for next term? You don’t want to come back and have to room with a complete stranger or living in the most undesirable place because that is the only option left available.

Stay connected back home and abroad

Let people know how you will stay in contact, if you will use Skype, let them know your user name before you go. Starting a travel blog is great if you want to broadcast your experience to a large number of people at the same time, but let people know your blog web address so they can reach it. Staying in touch with your friends and family back home is also important. If you tend to get home sick, talking with someone familiar at home can be a tremendous help. Even if you don’t get home sick, it will let everyone know what you are doing and not be worrying about your safety.

Create a check list

Knowing where you will be going and when, allows you to pack your belonging to fit your needs. Packing too little or too much stuff is not good either way, so think about what you need before hand and create a packing list so you don’t forget anything.

Taking care of business at home –

Ensure your responsibilities from home are taken care of while you are in another country. For example, what do you do with your cell phone while you are abroad for months and you are still in a contract? Bills still need to be paid, so set up as many online payment options as possible. Have your other mail forward to another address like your parents or siblings while you away.

If you have your own list of 10 things to do before studying abroad, please feel free to share it with us in the comment section.

In October my friend Ashley and I traveled to five different countries in Europe in a little under two weeks. While it took a little extra planning and plotting, we were able to do so at an extremely affordable price and I wanted to share some resources with you if you also want to travel Europe but don’t have an unlimited budget.

Travel websites are your best friend! For flights from the United States to Europe, check out STA travel. They have great deals for students and people under 26 years old, and offer cheap fares that most other websites don’t pick up.

For travel in between countries in Europe, eDreams is a great resource. You enter your departure and arrival cities, and the website scans dozens of airlines to find the best deal. Flying between European cities is extremely affordable when using this site, which means you can visit more places in less time!

For living accommodations on the cheap, hostels are usually the best option. For my trip, I paid an average of 20 euros per night, which translates to less than $30 – what a steal! Hostel World is a fantastic website that allows you to search for hostels in over 180 countries. The site offers descriptions, pictures, prices, and user reviews, so you can be sure of your living situation before you ever set foot on foreign soil.

Experiencing a new city doesn’t have to break the bank either. You can see a lot that a city has to offer by doing some good old fashioned walking. By going to the city center and just walking around, you can get a feel for the city, and figure out sights and activities you may want to explore further. Additionally, the concierge or desk attendant can usually tell you local places to eat and hang out that are off the beaten path. These are usually cheaper than touristy places, and have much better fare to boot!

If you’re traveling to the U.S., check out the state guide for things to do in each state!

How do you save money while traveling?

National University, long famous for its flexible, online programs, is finding new ways to meet student needs. Although National University’s 70 degree programs are available online – meaning that you can pursue your degree from home with classes that work around your schedule – National University is now joining the growing ranks of Performing Art Schools in the US with its hybrid Master of Fine Arts (MFA) programs.

By offering its two MFA programs – one in Digital Cinema and the other in Professional Screenwriting – through this hybrid format, National University continues its efforts to make higher education accessible for all. While still emphasizing the flexibility of online classes, these hybrid programs offer the majority of their courses online but uniquely require an intensive residency at the Los Angeles campus in order to foster the kind of hands-on experience that comes from classroom-based learning

Master of Fine Arts in Digital Cinema

In addition to the nineteen classes available online, Digital Cinema candidates must participate in the three course residency program that takes place at National University’s Los Angeles campus. In total, the entire residency lasts one month. However, only the Production Management Practicum is a full month long – the other two classes (Production and Postproduction) are taught consecutively (for two weeks each, one after the other). Taken together, these workshops are designed to provide aspiring filmmakers with actual production experience using professional equipment in a real-world, collaborative environment.

Master of Fine Arts in Professional Screenwriting

Like the Digital Cinema program, the Professional Screenwriting program requires students to participate in an on-site practicum at the Los Angeles campus. Designed to prepare students to work in a variety of capacities, over the course of the program students may choose from one of three tracks: screenwriting, television writing, or transmedia writing. As a result of this concentration, candidates complete two full-length screenplays (or equivalent) as well as an aesthetic statement reflecting their artistic development during their enrollment.

Although both programs are offered full-time at the National University Los Angeles campus, these two programs offer an exciting opportunity for international students. Because of their emphasis on a hybrid learning system, students can complete their coursework from their home country while still gaining hands-on experience in the American market. In the end, no matter where you are in the world, with National University’s hybrid system it’s the best both!

Perhaps one of the most exciting and perplexing things for international students in Minnesota to understand is the concept of the “Twin Cities.” The Twin Cities, which is a combination of both Minneapolis (the most populated city) and Saint Paul (Minnesota’s capital), is the largest metropolitan area in the state of Minnesota. Since they border each other and were sometimes confused as the same place, people started referring to them as the “Dual Cities” around 1872. The term “Dual Cities” eventually became “Twin Cities” and that is why we refer to them that way today.

Some international students studying in Minnesota may find it easy to distinguish the differences between the two cities; Minneapolis is a much younger city and full of skyscrapers while Saint Paul if full of quaint neighborhoods and late-Victorian style architecture. In the past, the cities’ differences led to an intense rivalry which strangely enough, ended up contributing to some of their current similarities. When St. Paul built its beautiful Cathedral in 1915, Minneapolis quickly constructed its equally stunning Basilica of St. Mary in 1926. Both cities have a University of Minnesota campus which is referred to as the Twin Cities campus.

Because of the extreme rivalry between each cities’ sports teams, the state’s professional sports teams are now named for both cities. So instead of the Minneapolis Millers or the St. Paul Saints, we now have the Minnesota Vikings (American Football) and the Minnesota Twins (baseball).

Hopefully this little tidbit about the Twin Cities has helped any international students in Minnesota who were previously confused about what exactly the Twin Cities were… now you understand they are two cities in Minnesota that border each other and despite their differences have become more similar over time. Perhaps the concept is a bit perplexing, but maybe it’s their unique similarities and differences that make the Twin Cities so great!