Is education abroad a dream or a nightmare? Many people think that studying abroad is very challenging in consequence the disadvantages are higher than advantages, but it is verified by others than the education in another country helps to improve lives in several human aspects. In my belief that outcomes of education abroad bring more benefits to personal lives and people careers than complications or challenges during the experience.
While international students are coursing their grades, they can interact with the community, the culture, people from other countries and get better work experiences. Go to another country to study necessarily means to leave the nation where people are original and join to another new one. Part of the benefits to study abroad is starting a new life in a new community that could be totally different versus the traditional society where people grew up. It is the opportunity to learn about other usages and customs. In the middle of the experience, international students can adopt new traditions from the new place and mix them with their ones. When students start interacting with other students, some ones are local and others foreign, they can share their culture and traditions while other ones do the same provoking a completely new experience that enrich the personal perspective about culture and traditions that existing throughout the world. If this is not enough, the students’ career after finishing the studies it is shoot to sky once they return to their countries. It is very common that host countries offer programs where students can work half time, this is a great opportunity to work in a different place and apply different technics, skills and knowledge acquired during the course. Additionally, these people can replicate all those experiences in their countries when they come back, it is a great opportunity to get a better job position and much better incomes. For instance, my friend George had the opportunity to go to study to USA many years ago when he was young. In his case, were his parents who helped him to get the experience at MIT University. It was a very valuable experience. When I met him, he had come back to Mexico, and I noticed how he had a different point of view about problems and solutions that were happening in our job. Nowadays, he has a great administrative job as a Product Owner where he is using all the experience gained trough the time plus his master gotten in USA.
Studying in another country faces some challenges such as money exchange, housing, health insurance even law rules that are running in the new destination. To go to study abroad implies to cover expenses in a different country with different coin and values’ money versus the students’ ones. Normally, students or their parents gain incomes in one type of coin but when they decide to go to another country, they need to consider the probability these quantities could be lower than the coin is used in the other country. Therefore, the effort to cover necessities in the new country could be too challenging over all at the beginning of the international experience. International students face other challenges when they need to rent a house in the new country. Rent a house or apartment without financial history or recommendation plus the lack of knowledge about the law those are things to consider seriously when people are planning to go to study to another country. Although, there are alternatives to achieve this goal, it could be difficult without preparation and research. Therefore, students and parents think seriously the option to study in another country. Despite nobody hopes to be sick, it is true that illnesses are there, and a long-term educative experience could be tough without health services. Many countries are easier than others when provide health services is part of the package offered to attract international students. When it is not possible to government to provide health services, the responsibility is for international students and their relatives making more complex the foreign experience. Depending on the age or the responsibilities there are some rights or duties that the country or the state could demand to all the international students, and these can struggle with them. The law could be different to the original country for each student or case. One of the most common changes students face in their international experiences is how to pay taxes or maybe simpler how to get a driver license. Those things could be easier in their country but in a new one the rules change. For example, in my personal case I been looking for a master in Canada, and I found that the province of BC can provide health insurance after three months and only if you will take a course over six months of total duration. The region of BC and in general Canada have been experiencing troubles with houses because there is more demand than offer and this is a problem for people like me who want to go to study due to the highest cost on accommodations. In addition, currently global economy is leaving a little complex situation with Donald Trump and his announcements about rise of tariffs that means the money exchange could be challenging in middle of uncertainty. In my case I can have one day CAD vs MXN in 14.20 and next day in 14.72 or worse.
In conclusion, studying in another country is challenging but the pros are amazing in the personal and professional life of people who decide to run the project of study abroad. I think it will continue being scary for those who are not involved in the process of foreign studies, but in the same way people who are interested in preparing their experience will continue succeeding. It should be very useful if government and people share more information about this kind of process to help others to understand how to overcome the challenges and have a much better experience studying in another country.
