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By jdippel529

Every year, students choose to study abroad in Europe for the opportunity to travel around the continent. If I am being honest, this is one of the reasons why I chose to study in Madrid, as opposed to another Spanish-speaking country in Latin America. I had never been to Europe before and desperately wanted to see historic cities such as Athens and Rome, and “EuroTrip” must-sees like Paris and London.

But, as I embark on my first weekend trip, I can’t help but worry about how to manage my time between other cities and countries, and Madrid. After all, I chose to study in Madrid—a decision I intend to take full advantage of. That being said, once you actually sit down and look at your calendar, you begin to realize what little weekend time 4 short months leaves you. This creates a problem that I believe most study abroad students encounter: the “I know I am not going to be able to afford to go back to Europe for a long time now, so I want to travel as much as I can while I am here while also immersing myself into the culture of my host country,” problem.

Trust me, I am no expert on the matter. However, I do have some tips for coping with the pressure of balancing your adventures in your host country and your adventures abroad:

  1. Which cities do you want to visit the most? Which could you do without seeing? Don’t go on a trip simply because all of your friends are going, go because YOU want to. Your time in Europe is short and precious, so don’t waste half of it traveling to places you could really care less about.
  2. Class load is significantly less when you are studying abroad, so take advantage of the afternoons and evenings you have during the week to explore your city! This is a great way to explore your host country without having to a sacrifice a weekend of travel.
  3. Plan, Plan, Plan! My saving grace this trip has really been my trusty ‘ole iCalendar. With it, I have been able to map out what weekends I am willing to leave open for travel and what weekends I want to stay in Madrid. This comes in handy especially when GW has scheduled program events you must attend, or if you have a paper coming up!
  4. Figure out what YOU want. Listen, everybody has different priorities while studying abroad, and that is 100% ok! That is why you need to figure out what is most important to you: traveling throughout Europe or learning about your host culture. Do you want to work to find a balance? Or would you rather just pick one? It’s all up to you. If you can answer this question right off the bat, you’re in good shape!

Happy Travels!