Making The Most Of Your Semester Abroad

By Chelsea Colvin

Ciao! Today I’m going to talk a little bit about my ideal semester studying abroad.. when I spent a semester in Rome in fall 2010 I had an amazing experience, there are not many things that I would change. Let me tell you a bit about it..

The second weekend that I was in Rome me and my friends decided to go to the Amalfi Coast with Bus2alps (one of the best decisions we ever made). I can honestly say that this was the best weekend of my life hands down. Our first day was spent cruising around on private boats for just Bus2alps students, checking out the amazing island of Capri, and going to the best bar in town.

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My friends and I on the island of Capri.. just look at that view!!

Now, the second day in POSITANO was my perfect day, and all of my friends agreed. We spent the day lounging on the beach with some vino, renting a boat with ten other people and going up and down the amazing coastline, cliff-jumping and strolling around Positano in search of gelato and sundresses.

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My friend James was our captain for a couple hours while we rented a boat! So fun!

What could be better you ask? Well, how about meeting over 50 students from Rome that become your friends for the entire semester because of this trip. As a study abroad student I only knew a couple people (my roommates and their friends) but after this trip I went back to Rome with tons of new friends that would become my best friends beyond my semester abroad.. so thank you Bus2alps for that!

After going on one Bus2alps trip I think its safe to say we became addicted.. from this weekend we went to OKTOBERFEST and CROATIA with Bus2alps!

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Oktoberfest is a MUST when studying abroad, I can’t stress that enough. Munich is gorgeous and the festival is like Disneyland for adults, if you love beer and pretzels this is the place for you. Also, no need to worry about anything because Bus2alps guides will be there the whole time to bring you home, show you what tents to go to, tell you where to get the cheapest drindel (for girls), and anything else you could possibly need!

From here we went onto Florence & Tuscany.. ahhhhmazing! One of the most beautiful places in Italy.. and the food is to die for! This was a relaxing weekend trip that I went on with my school, AUR.

Onto one of the most exciting weekends of the semester.. Croatia!! Since flights were so expensive my roommate and I decided the best and cheapest option was going with Bus2alps which again was awesome. We stayed in the sickest hostel in the center of Split, went white water rafting, took a private ferry cruise to different Croatian islands, went into the town of Trojir for dinner, walked around the marble city center of Split and checked out some awesome local bars.

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Me and my rafting crew in Croatia.. so much fun!

I’m sure at this point you’re thinking, another perfect weekend, how is that possible? Yes my friends it’s true, every weekend that you are abroad can be the best one ever if you know where to go and who to travel with!

My fall break was the craziest 10 days.. My mom definitely thought I was insane when I told her my plans. My roommate and I decided our ideal trip would be Barcelona to Seville, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal to Dublin & Galway Ireland, then back to Rome. Who does that?! Well we did, and even though it was a once in a lifetime amazing experience,  most of it was spent worrying about if we were going to make our flight/bus/train, how to get to our hostel, where to go at night, etc. Needless to say alot of money was spent on this trip so my advice to future students is go on a trip where you won’t have to stress about how you’re getting to your next destination. If I could go back and do it again I would 100 percent take the Northern Loop trip with Bus2alps! They take care of everything you could think of and you have activities set up already, plus it cost 1/4 of what I spent on my break.. my mom would have LOVED me if I did this.

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The second to last weekend of the semester we went to AMSTERDAM! Another must see in my book. Loved it!

One place I didn’t go while studying abroad was Greece.. flights were too expensive but I wish I planned this ahead of time or find another way to go such as with Bus2alps. I’ll get there someday though!

Well hope this helps any future students.. I sure had fun reminiscing and thinking back to the best 5 months of my life! Ciao!

Chelsea studied abroad in Rome in Fall 2010.  She has recently returned to the beautiful city of Rome to intern with Bus2alps.  To read more posts from Chelsea, check out her blog.

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