The International Student Blog

Studying in a different country is an exciting experience- one that needs to be documented so you are able to remember it long after the once fresh memories fade. Many students who study abroad don’t keep a journal because they claim it’s too time consuming or they don’t enjoy writing. If you’re included in this bunch, here are a few alternate ways that you can carry your memories home and hold onto them for years.

The Journal Shortcut

Instead of spending hours writing pages and pages of each moment- break it down. Spend five minutes at the end of each day or week and briefly write down a couple of sentences that explain what you experienced. By the end of your semester or year you will have a nice compilation of entries!

Snail Mail

A good way to keep in contact with those you love back home and have a way to carry your memories home is through post cards. They only require a short message and always have a postmark to help you remember where you sent it from. Make sure you ask the recipient of the post cards to keep each of them until you return.

Start a Collection

If you refuse to write down your experience abroad start a collection instead. With each new experience you have to make sure you obtain an item that can spark a memory of that specific moment. It might be a travel ticket stub, a pressed flower, a seashell or something you purchase like a t-shirt or piece of jewelry.

Make a Photo Journal

After each trip pick out the best photos that you’ve acquired and print them out. While having digital prints of every single photo is nice to have, you more than likely won’t search through thousands of photos after your trip. Choose the best few from each trip and make a photo album.

While studying abroad you may think you could never forget moments like those you’re experiencing. Just to be on the safe side and so you can share your journey with others, you might want to have a back up plan when it comes to how you carry your memories home.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 28th, 2013 at 9:00 am and is filed under International Student, Study Abroad. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Written by Bryanna Davis

Bryanna joined EIC in 2011 after returning to the United States from teaching English in China. Her interest in international education, sparked initially by her own study abroad experience in Wales, led her to the company. Bryanna is originally from Missouri and is a graduate from the University of Central Missouri.

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