You’ve decided on your study abroad program, applied for your passport, and are already thinking about what you’ll do and all the fun you’ll have during your time abroad. You will have experiences you think you’ll never forget, but too often you do. Plan ahead for how you can capture those memories forever. Here are some ideas from past study abroad participants on how to record those experiences. Most students used several of these ideas in combination.
Whatever you decide to do, just make sure you do something! If you don’t, you will regret it (believe me, I speak from experience)!
Journals
This is the most traditional, and one of the most satisfying, ways of recording experiences. A journal is more than a log of where you went each day. By journaling, you not only know what you did and who you did it with, but also your thoughts and emotions. A journal is where you can record your frustrations and triumphs as you navigate your new culture. This is particularly helpful when you are back in the U.S. reflecting on your experience.
Photos
Everyone should take a camera with them! You want to make sure you have visual reminders of your experiences, so either a digital or regular camera is a must. Don’t wait until the end of your trip to get your film developed, however, as you’ll never remember who those people were in your photo or where it was taken. One way to remember is to keep a log of photos taken and the names of the people in them. If you use a digital camera, you can create your own web-based photo album for your friends and family to view while you’re still abroad.
Blogs
Everyone seems to be blogging these days (even us)! As an alternative to sending emails out to family and friends (unless you do a generic one to everybody), think about creating a blog (really an online journal) of your experiences. Mindsay.com and Blogger.com both offer this service for free, as two examples among the many sites on the web. On some you can also post photos along with your written text. People can also reply to your blogs to add another aspect to your experience.
Art Work
Do you like to draw or paint? Toting a sketchbook with you may seem like work, but can be very rewarding. Not only do you capture a scene with your own skill, it’s a very personal remembrance. And if you’re an art student, these could become part of your portfolio.
Letters/Emails Home
Before email (it wasn’t that long ago), students studying abroad wrote letters and mailed them home. Whether you send an email or write a letter and mail it, make sure that you keep a copy. The mother of one student kept all her emails, printed them out and gave them to her daughter to read once she was back home and then talked about them with her. It’s great both to remember and generate discussions about your time abroad.
Postcards
Another way of recording your experience is to buy a postcard whenever you travel and writing one or two specific things about the location or your experience there and compile a collection of postcards to bring home (or you can mail them to your family).
Scrapbooks
If you are a crafty person, or even if you’re not, putting together a scrapbook is a great way to combine photos, tickets, postcards, and writing into one book. This is a great way to display the breadth of your experience and help you remember your time abroad in the years to come.