My Reasons for Studying Abroad

Hello, everyone! I felt it was important to kick off my blog with the reasons why I'm doing a study abroad semester. Maybe this will give everyone a better understanding as to why I want to go through with this.

When I first decided to study abroad, I did it because it sounded like fun. I was originally only enrolled as a Hotel and Restaurant Management major, at least until my summer freshmen orientation at my school, Northern Arizona University. That’s when they described to me the extended major that the school offered, which was International Hospitality Management.

The extended major has all the same requirements as the Hotel and Restaurant Management degree; however, it is much more intensive academically and focuses on international coursework. An additional two semesters of a foreign language is required for the extended degree, coming to a total of two years study of a foreign language. On top of that, there are additional business and hospitality courses that are requirements for the extended major, including International Economics, International Marketing, and International Management, to name a few.

The final requirement for the International Hospitality Management degree is a semester of study abroad. This was the selling point for me to enroll in the extended major, although the idea of more challenging coursework was also very appealing. But I made that choice on a whim, and didn’t give as much careful consideration as the decision probably deserved. However, things worked out well in the end, and since I made that choice I have never regretted it.

But the further I get into this study abroad process, and the closer my departure date gets, the more I realize how much I really will gain from this experience.

I couldn’t have picked a more perfect place to go! The Macau Institute for Tourism Studies seemed like a good choice for me when I first made the decision to go to China. This decision was another choice made too quickly without much thought, but again I do not regret it. My only thought process was (a) that it was the most interesting place I could find, and (b) the classes were taught in English. Bam, I’m sold.

However, the more I learn about Macau, the more excited I become. Macau is a tourism-oriented city with lots of large casinos, which seems like the perfect setting for hospitality studies. I also really like the program at the Institute for Tourism Studies, and sometimes I wish our Hotel and Restaurant Management program at Northern Arizona University was designed more like theirs. It will be good for me to spend a semester doing only hospitality coursework, and I think it will be fun to immerse myself in my major and focus solely on that. It will also be easier to focus on tourism studies while in a foreign country rather than try to balance my business, music, language, and elective classes at once like I usually do.

I’m very glad that my study abroad experience will be educational academically. As silly as it seems, I never gave much thought to the academic side of study abroad, and I was always more focused on the travel side of things. But while in China I do need to keep in mind that I am there for school, not for fun, and that education needs to be my number one priority.

One of the more selfish reasons why I want to study abroad is to make myself a more marketable individual for when I apply for a job in the future. For one, China is becoming the next big player in business, and having that experience in China will be very appealing to potential employers. I also expect to pick up on at least some Chinese while I’m there, which will make for a resume that stands out from the rest.

A hope I have while abroad is to learn better communication skills. I expect the language barrier to be an issue, even if English is quite common in Macau. By learning techniques to become a better communicator overall, I think that will help me not only in my professional life, but in my personal life as well.

These are all very good aspirations and goals for me to work toward while abroad in China, and I think that they justify going through this experience rather well. However, my primary goal while abroad is achieving a sense of individualism. By forcing myself to step out of my comfort zone, my hope is to become more independent. I feel like I have never been able to be completely independent and that I often have to rely on other people, since I don’t always feel confident that I can do it myself. While my college experience so far has helped me improve on that, I feel that my study abroad experience will take me to that level of individualism that I ultimately want to reach.

All of these goals are things I’ve discovered AFTER making the decision to go abroad. While it is true that I entered into this process rather hastily and without much forethought, I also think it ended up for the best. While I am usually a very logical person who overthinks everything, this decision was made very spontaneously. In the end, though, I’m glad I let go and decided to put myself out there.

Well, there you have it, the reasons why I want to go abroad! Hopefully this gives everyone a better understanding of why I’m doing this.

Sincerely,
Kati