{"id":17338,"date":"2022-10-21T12:27:25","date_gmt":"2022-10-21T11:27:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kbs-news-events\/?p=17338"},"modified":"2022-10-24T08:53:04","modified_gmt":"2022-10-24T07:53:04","slug":"year-abroad-i-had-the-best-time-and-would-do-it-again-in-a-heartbeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kbs-news-events\/2022\/10\/year-abroad-i-had-the-best-time-and-would-do-it-again-in-a-heartbeat\/","title":{"rendered":"Year Abroad: ‘I had the Best Time and Would do it Again in a Heartbeat!’"},"content":{"rendered":"

George Howell is from Maidstone, Kent and is studying International Business with a Year Abroad and studied in Kansas, USA.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI have always loved to travel and experience different cultures. Therefore, when I applied to university after A Levels I went for International Business with a Year Abroad. I loved the fact that I got to study and travel at the same time, as an extension of my BSc degree.<\/p>\n

Of course, the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 certainly made things a little more difficult because of the uncertainty surrounding travel at the time. Thankfully, restrictions began to lift just in time and I was given a free reign of exciting locations to choose from.<\/p>\n

I went for the University of Kansas in the USA as I love American culture. The placements team at Kent were incredibly and I eagerly awaited my immigration documents. \u00a0Once they arrived, I then had to apply for a visa and go through an interviewing process. I had full support of the team at Kent who helped to quell any nerves about uprooting for a year.<\/p>\n

Finding accommodation was a little tricky as I wanted to stay off campus and many apartments require an American guarantor, which thankfully I managed to secure and get my dream base for student life in the US.<\/p>\n

The first day was indeed daunting, but I was excited. I still remember speaking in class for the first time and everyone staring at me like I was an alien because of the accent. Everyone was so friendly though and made me very comfortable.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest hurdles was the weather. In February it was -12 Celsius and in summer it would be 30+ most days. I was not prepared for the cold and going to class I would be wrapped up in about five layers!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My favourite moment was going to New Orleans for the national basketball championship. KU ended up winning and we had a great time.<\/p>\n

The hardest part of the year was missing my girlfriend who I barely saw for 9 months. Flippant as it sounds, I also longed for a decent curry, as the Indian food out there is scarce. It made me value the culinary scene in Britain!<\/p>\n

The absolute best thing about the placement was getting to visit various different states. Each state has its differences it’s almost like visiting a new country sometimes. I visited Texas, Louisiana, West Virginia, Philadelphia, Missouri, Oklahoma<\/p>\n

Doing a Year Abroad was a real learning curve for me, as the style of learning in America is completely different to ours in the UK. The US is more homework based and heavily group orientated.<\/p>\n

Travelling and moving to a country makes you solely responsible for yourself which has of course made me be more responsible. Unfortunately, I think I have a travel bug now and want to keep on the move!<\/p>\n

I made lots of friends over there who I keep in touch with. I also had a friend come over and stay with me for two weeks in the UK, which he loved.<\/p>\n

If someone asked me about doing a Year Abroad I just say, honestly just go for it. Everyone would be a little nervous, but just throw yourself into it and you will love it. I had the best time and would do it again in a heartbeat.”<\/p>\n

\n

For more information on our Year Abroad options at the University of Kent, visit\u00a0Study abroad \u2013 Go Abroad \u2013 University of Kent<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

George Howell is from Maidstone, Kent and is studying International Business with a Year Abroad and studied in Kansas, USA. \u201cI have always loved to … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74553,"featured_media":17342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[124],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kbs-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17338"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kbs-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kbs-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kbs-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74553"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kbs-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17338"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kbs-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17410,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kbs-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17338\/revisions\/17410"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kbs-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kbs-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kbs-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kbs-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}