Imagine getting lost on train with no map or phone to figure out where you are or how to get home. Now, imagine that same situation in a foreign country. We asked students at Saint Joseph’s University if they had any crazy stories to share from studying abroad.
Transportation Gone Wrong
Public transportation can be difficult in America, but imagine when you barely know the language. That happened to junior, Ally Kuvik, when she went to Galway, Ireland and got on the wrong train going in the opposite direction. She was trying to get back “home” but ended up on “the total opposite side of the country”.
The Stolen Phone
When junior, Whitney Jones, went to Greece, she put her phone on the table of a restaurant not thinking twice about it. Next thing she knew, a swift local was walking out the door with her only form of communication. She ended up having to go three weeks without a phone in a foreign country.
Lost Without a Map
Google Maps has become the savior from getting lost. People have become dependent on the app, using it to get places as close as five minutes away. And practically no one knows how to use a paper map anymore. Now imagine not being able to use your phone to use maps in a foreign country. When junior, Erin Threlfall, studied abroad in Rome, she was trying to find the Spanish Steps when her phone died and her paper map was in Italian. The Spanish Steps soon became the least of her problems. She eventually made it back but not without freaking out first.
Food Too Small
It’s no secret that America’s food portions are much larger than the rest of the world. As a nation, we are substantially fatter than every other country. When junior, Sophie Hampton, traveled to Copenhagen, she found herself going grocery shopping a couple times a week when she realized how small the food portions were. She was used to the padded portion sizes we are used to in America but her bank account was taking a huge hit.
Becoming a Global Ambassador
When senior, Grace Litner, got back from studying in Sydney, Australia, her study abroad experience did not stop there. She is now a global ambassador for Saint Joseph University students and talks to them about the benefits of studying abroad.
