Italy: “Study” Time Versus ” Abroad” Time

Submitted by Kaitlyn McConeghy on the 2018 spring semester program in Rome, Italy…

Everyone who decides to study abroad will invariably, at some point, from some parent/family friend/relative, get the same line: don’t forget the “study” part of study abroad, hahaha!  Here at JCU, that line has never been more relevant as the classes are no joke and the professors are not amused by students who they feel like are neglecting the first half of the “study abroad” equation.  I’m taking some pretty tough classes while I’m here: finance, operations management and two upper-level English courses.  So, for me, a weekend of travel means some serious catch-up.

Back at Delaware, I spend most of my time in class, working, or studying and the remaining time I have left to hang out with friends and relax.  Here, after you add travel to the equation, it can start to feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day.  One thing that I think I’m really starting to learn here is how important time management is.  Back at school, I would go to the library for hours, but not get half as much done as I should have. I’d lose a ton of productivity to chatting with friends or scrolling through Instagram.  Here, I’m learning that if I maximize my library time, then I can use that extra time towards the “abroad” half of study abroad.

I think that if you go into study abroad expecting that the “study” half will yield to accommodate the “abroad” half, you can be in for a serious shock.  It truly is a half and half ratio, and you have to maximize your “study” time to accommodate your “abroad” time.  This is still something that I’m seriously working on, and I hope that, when I get back to Delaware, I’ll have really improved my time management skills.