What your year abroad destination really says about you

A year abroad studying seems like the absolute dream; a time for us students to flee our cold English campuses in hunt of some much needed time away.

Choosing your year abroad destination is a huge decision. Yet, it seems like some people were born to swap the Hyde Park life for a year and jet off to the Gold Coast or a remote village in Ecuador.

And with everyone who comes back from their year abroad talking about nothing else for the next ten months, it’s pretty easy for us to imagine the stereotypes associated with certain destinations and let’s face it: we’ve got it spot on…

Melbourne

There’s no denying that the real reason you chose Melbourne wasn’t for the opportunity to study at a highly ranked university. Instead, you were drawn to the beaches, the booze and the banging travel opportunities.

Maybe you felt left out for not having a gap year and are now making up for it or maybe you just think its the “cool” place to go – either way, there’s no fooling us.

Nevertheless, you won’t miss an opportunity to brag away with your newly created “Aus Year Abroad Instagram” – lucky us!

Florida

Swapping the freezing North for the Sunshine State seems like a very wise decision (not quite as wise as forcing your Uber to stop off at Crispy’s on your way home – but it’s pretty close). However, it does mean you turn into every kind of person you hated before setting off on your year abroad.

As you hop on your longboard, swap your Leeds Varsity hoodie for your new “UFL” one and head off for “hiking class”, you ask yourself: ‘how did I get so lucky?’

On the other hand, all your Instagram followers are now asking, “do we really need to see any more pictures with you and a surfboard?” At least the Leeds Uni Study Abroad Instagram is grateful for your photos.

Wisconsin

In a sort of panicked frenzy and seeing your dreams of joining the ultimate Frat house fading away, you signed up to study in America – however, you didn’t realise that location means everything.

Not to worry though, the endless years you spent at boarding school has set you up perfectly for these long 10 months away.

Peru

Your gap year just wasn't fulfilling enough and now you need one more opportunity to “find yourself”. As work opportunities are near enough impossible to find in Latin America, studying for a year in Peru is the ideal opportunity to travel, learn more Spanish and fill your wardrobe with a stupid amount of traditional Peruvian clothes to help smooth your transition back to Edgy Leeds in the final year.

You might not get that Erasmus grant either, but hey – daddy will be paying for it all anyway, so who really cares?

Hong Kong

You can’t believe your luck as you sit there about to embark on the 11 hour flight ahead – just the right amount of time to work on that CV for the 1000th time.

There’s no hiding how keen you really are: course rep, an avid member of 3 different societies and team captain of Ultimate Frisbee. Sitting on the first row in Conference Auditorium never scared you – so why would studying in Hong Kong? Of course, the completely different language and culture may come as a bit of a shock…but as your choice of Hong Kong suggests, you have found your perfect match.

Barcelona

‘Let me get this straight: I HAVE to go on a year abroad and it doesn’t count towards my final grade?’ you remember thinking as you’re sunbathing on La Barceloneta with a sangria in hand.

You may not actually be learning that much Spanish…and studying the works of a random Spanish writer may not be the most interesting way to spend your time, but can you really complain?

You feel as though all those hours spent preparing for your dreaded conversation classes have finally been worth it and now going back to studying in the Language Zone just really isn’t that appealing. Don’t worry – it won’t be long til you’re back abroad, as let’s face it, now you’ve gone abroad – why would you stay in England?

Canada

Let’s be honest: you thought a year in Canada would entail endless skiing, stunning scenery and eating so many pancakes, you’ll forget LS6 Café even existed. However, reality hits you hard when its -30 degrees, your cold has lasted for 4 months now and you kind of just want to be back in the comforting walls of Eddy B with all your mates.

At least you’re not in America though, right?

New Zealand

You wear your gym kit to uni and actually go to the gym; you spend your weekends in the library and rarely venture to Beaverworks; and now you’ve already finished your study abroad application months before the deadline.

All in all, a year abroad is an amazing opportunity and something you will never forget. Just remember: as you go to start your tenth year abroad story over breakfast at the Greasy Pig, you have every right to; because it really was the best year of your life (and your housemates are just insanely jealous of you).