Studying away is a different experience for everyone. Most students see it as an exploratory time and hope to make the best of their time abroad. However, no matter how bright the outlook there are still fears and worries that come along with going to a new place, whether they concern making friends, enjoying yourself, or dealing with your personal health. Peek into the minds of a few students who are just starting their spring semester at sites all across the Global Network University, as they share their thoughts and feelings at the beginning of this semester.Accra to Prague -- Kevin PhamKevin Pham is a junior from NYU Shanghai. This will be his second study away semester.Entering this new semester, I knew I would be entering familiar waters, although I have not had the chance to explore them in a while. Going from a program in Accra where there were only 7 people total, to one in Prague with at least 180 people is going to be weird. I haven’t had this much exposure to new people since the start of my time at NYU Shanghai. It’s not difficult to get around and meet 6 other people during an orientation, especially if I already knew half of them. Now with Prague, the whole notion of meeting a bunch of new people is kind of daunting.I feel like it has been a long time since I felt the need to meet new people. But that is the same type of bad attitude I had at the beginning of my sophomore year. That year I walked in with a sort of #nonewfriends attitude. It sucks and I really regret it. I do feel like I have some good homies in the Class of 2018 (shout out to the homies), but I wish I had more time to realize how cool they were. I just was not interested in the idea of making new friends because I would only know them for a year, so what was the point of trying. I was super wrong about that and I now realize how big of a hypocrite I was. I’ve had countless talks about how I thought the study aways in Shanghai were unfriendly and didn’t make an effort to try to make new friends. Perhaps that is true, or maybe I was also part of the problem. Seeing how it was possible to meet some good people in Class of 2018, I do not want to make the same mistake here in Prague.I’ve already been through orientation here, and walking in I wasn’t too worried. I’ve been through the whole rodeo before: talking with people and trying to find comfort in groups, attempting to meet new people and feel out the vibes, sleeping during lectures, trying the new food. Y’all know how it is. I think the one thing that makes this orientation stand out for me is that things I saw in Shanghai during freshman year mirror what I see now. Except this time I am extremely comfortable with how I carry myself because I know how things will work out. And also I know that I have all the homies that got my back, so what do I care if someone ain’t digging me right? Perspective dude. It’s gonna be a good semester. I'm enjoying my final real orientation before I get to return home. Buenos Aires to Accra -- Stephanie UlanStephanie is a junior from NYU Shanghai. This will be her second study away semester.My last semester studying abroad was obscenely incredible. And I mean it when I use the word obscene. It was the type of semester people talk about having over Facebook where you assume they must be exaggerating. If anyone remembers The Lizzie McGuire Moviewhere Hilary Duff is mistaken for a famous singer in Rome, it was that type of semester, except I wasn’t actually mistaken for a pop star nor can I even sing. It was more like the level of happiness and moments of “wow this must be unreal because I am just so happy” were endless and numerous during my time in Buenos Aires. There was literally not a single day where I missed home; every day had a new adventure as I explored the beautiful city with my new pack of friends, who I know are going to be some of my closest friends for life. After this experience I thought a lot about preparing for this upcoming semester in Accra, Ghana. I’m actually pretty nervous. Buenos Aires set the bar so so high, I’m worried I’ll be constantly comparing the site to Buenos at every turn, seeing a world of Twi and spicy food and missing my home of medialunas and cumbia. I’m excited for the adventure, but I find myself constantly thinking I need to experience this differently. I really hope that I can find the strength to accept that Buenos happened and I loved it but it’s over and I’m here now in Accra and need to make the most of every moment. I have already arrived, and I’m excited for the volunteer opportunities and the classes I’m going to take, and looking forward to exploring the city, which has already proven to be far more unusual than any city I’ve encountered. However, the fear still lingers. This city probably is great, I’m sure I will also enjoy my time here. But will I be able to love another place the way I love Buenos Aires?New York to Buenos Aires -- Katie-Rose NunziatoKatie-Rose is a sophomore student from NYU New York. This will be her first study away semester.After learning how to sleep in one sleepless city, I prepare to leave for yet another. My journal entries dwindle in content, and I find that I am filled, not with anticipation, but with apathy. But, this comes as no surprise. I am quite familiar with the impact mental illness can have on the self, and I can’t help but feel an undercurrent of trepidation running beneath this sense of apathy. Sometimes, the mind does funny things to avoid fear. One cannot deny that battling mental illness while studying abroad seems like a tough mountain to climb. Will I be strong enough to survive in Argentina, away from my friends and family, for four months?It is moments like these in which I turn to writings for the answers to my questions. Jorge Borges, a famous writer from the very city I am preparing to live in, speaks out to me. “How can we manage to illuminate the pathos of our lives?” How can I expose the poignancy that is present within myself, and how can I give it light?“A writer, or any man, must believe that whatever happens to him is an instrument; everything has been given for an end. This is even stronger in the case of the artist. Everything that happens, including humiliations, embarrassments, misfortunes, all has been given like clay, like material for one’s art. One must accept it. For this reason I speak in a poem of the ancient food of heroes: humiliation, unhappiness, discord. Those things are given to us to transform, so that we may make from the miserable circumstances of our lives things that are eternal, or aspire to be so.”Here is where I find my own answer. Perhaps I will walk through the streets of my new city, and realize that even during the darkest of times, if I can accept my suffering, I can give it light. I can find strength from the simple fact that even with my sufferance, I am so beautifully alive. “From my weakness, I [will draw] strength that never left me.”Shanghai to Abu Dhabi --- Kiril BolotnikovKiril is a junior from NYU Shanghai. This will be his first study away semester.I have been in Abu Dhabi for one week. In that time, I’ve learned a few words of Arabic, ridden a camel, boarded (very slowly) down a sand dune, ridden a quad bike up and down the dunes at twilight, been to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the central souq (market), and eaten falafel on more consecutive days than ever in my life. It's been great. Teachers are engaging, people are interesting, and the culture is new and mysterious.But I miss Shanghai. It’s my sixth semester in college but only my first away, and going to another portal campus is very different from going to a study-away site; I’ve been dropped into the middle of 900 or so NYU Abu Dhabi students who already know each other, who want to know how each other’s breaks went, how last semester in Paris or Buenos Aires was; seniors are in their final semester and working on their capstone projects, and you can feel the shared history between everyone.In Shanghai, I make my own rhythm; I help with orientations, lead tours, can tell newcomers all about the city. Here in Abu Dhabi, I find myself trying to find a version of my rhythm that suits the rhythm around me. I have met no one who has not been friendly and helpful, and I am confident that I will settle in during the coming weeks, but it does give me a greater sense of sympathy for the study-aways who come to Shanghai—at least in Abu Dhabi everyone speaks English.Nevertheless, I'm excited to be here and excited to learn what I can from this first study away experience; and, I'm already planning to find my way back to the United Arab Emirates sometime in the future.This article was compiled by Maya Williams. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Kiril Bolotnikov