{"id":622,"date":"2015-12-17T16:01:27","date_gmt":"2015-12-17T21:01:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/?p=622"},"modified":"2016-03-15T10:00:16","modified_gmt":"2016-03-15T14:00:16","slug":"another-groups-prepares-to-depart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/2015\/12\/17\/another-groups-prepares-to-depart\/","title":{"rendered":"Ready, Set, Go! Juniors Prepare To Study Abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/files\/2015\/07\/Slide11-e1438883202498.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-42\" src=\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/files\/2015\/07\/Slide11-e1438883202498.jpg\" alt=\"Slide1\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a>It&#8217;s that time in the semester when Colby staff across the campus work together to make sure students prepare to leave, as prepared as possible, for off-campus study next semester. Pre-departure preparation is an essential part of assuring a successful experience for students.<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->So you&#8217;ve sifted through all the options, made your sometimes difficult choices, applied and been admitted to the program or university off-campus. Now you may be starting to feel the excitement and a little healthy dose of nervousness. This is admittedly combined with the challenges and stress of the end of the current semester.<\/p>\n<p>The mandatory Pre-Departure Orientation you attended is the opportunity for the <strong>office of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.colby.edu\/offcampus\/\">Off-Campus Study<\/a><\/strong> to encourage you to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>adjust your expectations while you adjust to different academic systems and cultures,<\/li>\n<li>be open to new experiences,<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=P-jVVX7bOZQ&amp;feature=youtu.be\">be self aware and practice safe behaviors<\/a>,<\/li>\n<li>check out the many tips and resources in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.colby.edu\/offcampus\/students\/pre-departure\/\">pre-departure section<\/a> of the off-campus study website<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>and, last but not least, to remind you of some\u00a0important <a href=\"http:\/\/www.colby.edu\/offcampus\/students\/how-to-apply\/course-approval-course-load-and-academic-requirements-2\/\">Academic Policies and Requirements<\/a>\u00a0you must follow. If you did not pick up your OCS <a href=\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/files\/2015\/12\/PRE-DEPARTURE-HANDBOOK-2015-16-.pdf\">Pre-Departure Handbook<\/a>, please do so or get\u00a0it here.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/files\/2015\/12\/Slide3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-678\" src=\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/files\/2015\/12\/Slide3.jpg\" alt=\"Slide3\" width=\"338\" height=\"182\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/files\/2015\/12\/For-the-traveler-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-681\" src=\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/files\/2015\/12\/For-the-traveler-1.jpg\" alt=\"For the traveler 1\" width=\"222\" height=\"473\" \/><\/a>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colby.edu\/health\/\">Colby Health Center<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>was there to advise on some ways to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.colby.edu\/offcampus\/students\/pre-departure\/what-to-know-before-you-go\/health-safety\/\">stay as healthy<\/a> as possible while away:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Prepare what you might need before you go or bring with you (such as vaccinations\/prophylaxis, medications, first aid kit)<\/li>\n<li>Take precautions to stay healthy while on site (such as eat and sleep well, use hand sanitizer, monitor your own health)<\/li>\n<li>Make sure you understand how your health and travel insurance work and what they cover<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/colby.medicatconnect.com\/\">Health Center staff are available <\/a>to meet with you by appointment or reach out to your doctor at home.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.colby.edu\/counselingservices\/\">Colby Counseling Center<\/a><\/strong> presented some eye-opening self-care tips to help you <a href=\"http:\/\/www.colby.edu\/offcampus\/students\/pre-departure\/what-to-know-before-you-go\/health-safety\/your-health-abroad\/\">prepare to <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.colby.edu\/offcampus\/students\/pre-departure\/what-to-know-before-you-go\/health-safety\/your-health-abroad\/\">cope<\/a> with the normal and new tensions you will <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-685\" src=\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/files\/2015\/12\/For-the-traveler-21.jpg\" alt=\"For the traveler 2\" width=\"225\" height=\"481\" \/>likely experience:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify the\u00a0supports and networks you rely on on at home and think about how you will continue or replace them in your new situation<\/li>\n<li>Self reflect and notice your mood changes<\/li>\n<li>Resist the temptation to isolate<\/li>\n<li>Remember that feeling stretched in difficult ways is a normal part of studying away but that most students navigate through it and grow<\/li>\n<li>Reach out and don&#8217;t hesitate to ask for help<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.colby.edu\/counselingservices\/\">Counseling Center staff are available<\/a> to meet with you by appointment or reach out to your doctor at home.<\/p>\n<p>Once the semester is over and as you get ready to leave,\u00a0we encourage you to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.colby.edu\/offcampus\/host-country-information\/\">learn about your host country<\/a>, educate yourself about\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.colby.edu\/offcampus\/students\/pre-departure\/culture\/\">culture and culture shock<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/2015\/07\/28\/what-to-pack-what-not-to-pack\/\">pack carefully<\/a>. Please be aware of these and more tips and resources on the OCS website:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.colby.edu\/offcampus\/students\/pre-departure\/next-steps\/\">Next Steps<br \/>\n<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.colby.edu\/offcampus\/students\/pre-departure\/what-to-do-before-you-go\/\">What To Do Before You Go<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.colby.edu\/offcampus\/students\/pre-departure\/what-to-know-before-you-go\/\">What To Know Before You Go<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Colby\u00a0wishes you a fantastic experience off-campus and we look forward to hearing all about it.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff\">Get out there!<\/span><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff\">Stay safe!<\/span><\/h2>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff\">Keep in touch!<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff\"><strong><em>A fun pre-departure exercise to do on the plane<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Here is a fun, short exercise to do on your flight over to your destination. On the flight, when you have time to relax and think, write a<span style=\"color: #0000ff\"><strong>\u00a0letter to yourself<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 addressing the following questions:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Why did I choose to study abroad and what made me choose \u2026.?<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>What expectations do I have about living in a foreign country? What differences do I expect to see?<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>What expectations do I have of the courses, professors and housing in a foreign country?<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>What do I expect to learn and gain from my semester abroad?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Save this letter and read it again on your flight back home. It will certainly\u00a0prove enlightening, and, hopefully, offer you a glimpse into what impact your semester abroad had on you, academically and personally. You will likely continue to experience and discover many changes in yourself for years to come.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s that time in the semester when Colby staff across the campus work together to make sure students prepare to leave, as prepared as possible, for off-campus study next semester. Pre-departure preparation is an essential part of assuring a successful experience for students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5945,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[268319,268821,269355,269838],"tags":[125425,217169,277339],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5945"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":878,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622\/revisions\/878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/ocsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}