Cory’s Study Abroad Advice
Everyone, meet Cory! I met him during my second semester at K-State, because the floor he lived on did lots of events together with the floor that I lived on. Cory did an amazing job sharing what he experienced and learned through social media. Every time I logged onto Facebook, I knew that I would be able to see something exciting he had done that day. When he answered my interview questions, he was actually still living in Germany!
Where do you currently live and what school do/did you attend?
I am from Salina, Kansas and study business at KSU.
Where did you study abroad and why did you choose to study there?
Frankfurt Oder, Germany at “European University Viadrina”. Both sides of my family were from East Europe/Germany. Plus, what better place to study International Business than in Germany?
How long did you study abroad for?
One semester abroad.
What was your favorite part about studying abroad?
My favorite part has been going on adventures to other countries. Meeting people from all over the world…literally. Learning cultural norms from each country. Eating traditional food and drink each countries best food and beer. Exposure to new situations, like not knowing how to talk, is very exciting. Seeing some crazy historical places and learing more than I have my whole time at K-State.
What was the easiest adjustment for you while abroad?
Easy adjustment was the food. Since my family is German, the food was very similar to what my grandma cooks.
What was the most difficult adjustment?
Most difficult adjustment…the language. You can not as easily make small talk with random people, and it is interesting how not knowing how to talk changes the way you go about certain situations.
Do you have any embarrassing stories that you’d be willing to share?
I was at Uni, getting a coffee during a break, and a German guy came up to me and asked if I knew where the sugar was. Not being to alert yet, I respond “ich sprechen english”. His accent was so thick, I thought he asked in German but he really asked in English! Hahaha it was pretty funny, mainly because his friend and him laughed at me.
If you could give one piece of advice for future study abroad students, what would that be?
Don’t be afraid to be a tourist. Go somewhere you didn’t think you would ever go (for me – Oslo, Norway). Travel somewhere you don’t know the language. Hang out with international kids and learn how similar we all are, but also how different we are. Eat a lot of good food and drink a lot (not too much, though). Lastly, if you do plan to travel, make sure you mix in places that you go to just to see the nature not just cities.
Cory has also been posting videos up on Youtube about his experiences and things that he has noticed while abroad. They are really interesting to watch, so take a look if you are interested. I posted one below, but if you check out his channel, there are tons to choose from!
If you have any questions for Cory, you can contact him here or follow him on Twitter.
About the Author
Rachel Budke Rachel is a senior at Kansas State University, where she is studying Bakery Science. In the fall of 2013 she studied abroad in Florence, Italy. She loves cooking, photography and DIY projects.
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