 We're fine. We're fine Okay, we're good. Hey ready welcome to this week's video So we're just gonna be doing a part two to like the big Like study abroad Q&A that I did about two weeks ago I got a ton more questions from you guys and I tried to organize them But he just it didn't go it didn't go well. So instead it's just gonna be a big jumbly mess I'm gonna start with the spiciest question because it's the spiciest question What did you think about the whole uni drinking culture clubbing nights out part? So this is a very loaded question and I will just say right off the bat Like I may be the wrong person to ask about this while I did have some fun nights out I am not a clubbing person if you couldn't tell Me in a club is like I don't even know like it's like I'm just like your awkward cousin Kevin Like stands in the corner and like doesn't know what to do with his hands like that's just That has been in a true image of me in a club Like it's just not a place that I particularly vibe with However, that being said I did go a couple of times I went during freshers week for all of the people who have not experienced European or American drinking culture. I will say I saw one Major difference or a couple major differences So I'll say like in American society a night out is like pretty much the The intention is to get obliterated like pretty pretty quickly. Well In Europe you want to they still want to get obliterated But like over over a much longer period of time like the night lasts a lot longer The drinking culture they definitely drink a lot more Than we do and you may be thinking like oh no, they couldn't know they do like most Europeans probably could drink us all under the table I am already a lightweight And so I was made fun of not made fun of a lot. Honestly I really liked Like pub culture of just like going and having a drink And just like chatting. There's always like live music. I was really loved that aspect of it Like if I'm gonna go have a drink somewhere like that's really what I like to do I would rather be around people that I really like. I think either country. That's just kind of A good rule of thumb. You always have more fun when the people around you are Like people who actually care about you and you could have fun with and let your hair down I just think that's always that's like a universal rule Okay, so the next question is planning a trip in the UK What's the best way to find work slash hostels while also traveling and seeing places? It depends on how long you are going if you're going for a short amount of time research hostels That is my literal number one advice for life to give an example when we were going to Dublin I started looking into hostels for me and my friend Teresa But the hostels that were available that weekend had some of the scariest reviews I have ever read in my whole entire life. People were it was like they were screaming until 3 a.m Illegal things in the rooms and I was like, oh, maybe let's not do that as female travelers I started looking up airbnb's in the area instead and I found an airbnb that was The cutest thing ever for I want to say half the price a night of a hostel between me and my friend Do do your research on hostels and compare them with an airbnb if you're going by yourself or with other people Honestly, if you go with other people it really cuts down on costs and if you are going for longer I'm gonna talk about world packers because I do think it's a really cool thing And you can use code katie blake for $10 off when you sign up for their services. Um I am an affiliate for world packers. However, I just I honestly I had a really great experience Working with them. I think it's a really cool way to see culture in a different way than just being a tourist Basically, you get a free place to stay Free being that you pay for it with your labor, which you do have to be careful with that kind of thing I'll say for anything and as an american I was like, I don't trust anybody like I'm not doing this And then I went and we honestly had the best time. Yeah, honestly, I think that's a really great way I have a whole video about it. If you're interested I will try to link it down below. The question is how to meet students my own age on exchange. I'm 22 best way Well, a if you go with the program, they are supposed to hook you up with People in your program. My program did that second semester first semester. Eh, not so much They maybe it got us all together like a month in but by that point I had made other friends And so had everybody else in my group. So it was just kind of like a mood point not a mood point Like there were still really nice people in my uh thing, but it was Like the dynamic is very different than if you come in like that first week and everybody's trying to make friends second semester I made a couple friends through like a group chat that my Program set up However, if you are not going with the program facebook is going to be your friend And honestly, I made a whole video about how to make friends in the uk or just abroad in general Facebook like people really do Meet up from facebook abroad. It's a really big thing So get on there and just go to a thing people would just like meet in parks And it can be really scary to go to those kinds of things by yourself I promise you don't overthink it just go and start talking to the first person you need and like It's gonna go really well like I mean not really well, but like It's it went a lot better every single time than I thought it would everyone was pretty open to meeting other people Yeah, it was really nice Best places to grocery shop in the uk Tesco You can get like the tesco. What is it the tesco card? That's uh, that's a pretty good one. I went to sainsbury's a lot the co-op I everyone kept telling me was expensive and it is expensive compared to the other ones I will say it was very funny to me how often people would complain about the prices of groceries Because I always found everything to be really really cheap Like in all of the grocery stores. I think the co-op is it is more expensive for sure, but Compared to american prices as a moment and I came home and I was not ready for inflation prices It's so expensive to live in america But yeah, sainsbury's is pretty good all the places have like those um the self-checkout these usually like one guy Like in all the stores. That's pretty much it and the greatest thing about The uk is there is literally a grocery store like every other block I was initially worried like oh because in the city. I live in right now There's two grocery stores and the second one we just got like within walking distance and the second one's really expensive And the other one's actually also very expensive. So that's really fun. How to cope with loneliness when studying abroad Yeah, man I feel like I've covered like some of us in some of my videos like talking about homesickness and things but coping with loneliness what I will say is take your relationships at face Value, I don't know if that makes any sense I think studying abroad really teaches you to lean on People that are around you that you don't really know super well Like I know for me it takes a really long time for me to really make a friend I hate to say that it really depends on the people around you because I don't like giving that advice because It's it's like as a as a person myself like I just want to always be like oh, I can fix it myself and like Sometimes it really is the people around you and like if you have met the right people that don't make you feel lonely Because I think there's a really big separation between like having a lot of friends and acquaintances and then feeling Lonely like I think that you can actively have a lot of Relationships and friendships, but still feel very lonely. What I will say is try it. I mean, I think quality over quantity is just Always my rule for life in a real way. Like I met a lot of people who like made me feel Lonely, you know what I mean? Like you just meet certain people And you just kind of know in the back of your your head You're just like oh like these people don't care about me like and they won't ever and I think Grasping onto that feeling and just being like I don't I don't actually need this like That has always guided me towards people who really make me feel seen and make me feel cared about And I think that if you extend that same care And I think I was honestly just thinking about this the other day like really very philosophical, but I think I don't like everybody Like I don't know if that's like a harsh statement But I think once you accept that like not everybody is gonna like you It makes it okay for like I'm not gonna I'm not gonna like everybody and I'm not going to put energy into People that a I don't think really like me or that b Like I don't really like You know studying abroad is a really short time especially if you're going for a semester Like it is literally going to be gone in the blink of an eye The golden rule treat people how you want to be treated if I okay first of all if I don't really vibe with someone I look I'm not going to like have beef with them. Like I I'm just gonna let them live like I That's fine. I don't need to give that any In the hands I don't need I don't need to give that any any energy that helped. I don't even know that was very that got very Philosophical next question. Are there any tools or facilities provided by the university for students to cope with? The different education system or style in my experience I had a personal tutor In the university So that was somebody in the university that I was linked up with like a staff member And if I had any questions, I could go talk to them. My personal tutor was so nice I only met with her one time because I only needed to meet with her one time However, if I if I did run into further like if I did run into problems I would feel I would have felt in good hands going to talk to her I mean as far as coming from like an international perspective Honestly finding other people who've moved from your country to that particular country can understand your particular like cultural struggles Because I don't say like other international students and international people like will will baseline understand what you're going through However having somebody to talk to who like specifically lived in your culture Can understand like the the difficulties that you may be having in your new one So I don't know if you know anybody who is maybe above you in school That could give you some advice that could be a good avenue as far as the university I don't I don't really know to be honest. This person wrote. What was the biggest culture shock? Do you have any reverse culture shock when you returned? I am currently having so much culture shock. I think the biggest one honestly was like The fact that like being a nerd is kind of like socially valuable over there I don't know if that's like maybe sounds like a little weird But it's definitely not here like I had a class the other day and somebody actually said to me No offense, but you look like you read books and I was like Like that just really honestly like had me taken it back. I was like, where am I? Actually, where am I? I'd like to leave because when I was abroad like I remember my friend turned to me one day. She was like, I can't wait to one day when I'm well read and I was like, where am I? Like this place is awesome. I can't I was just that really made me laugh I'm going through it and I'm really guys Like what does a person look like that looks like they read books like Like also why is I'm insult Never start a sentence with no offense. Like that is just offensive. I'm so sorry. Um, anyway Uh, this person wrote were there any particular things you said yes to with very low expectations But ended up really enjoying Honestly, my honest answer is world packers Doing a work exchange. I thought the idea that sounded really cool But like the american and me was like, I don't trust others and so I think I went into it thinking that it was going to be a little more scary than Um, it actually was and it was just like one of the most bizarre weeks of my life In the best way like it was just really really fun. So yeah, I'll say doing a work work exchange We just like met the randomest people and we got you know involved and like not involved but In like the small town drama There was an incident at the pub and we were there And then we literally got home and somebody had like from the town had called our host about the incident And um, it was a big scandal and we we got to witness it I mean like met a lot of locals from this like tiny little town in the middle of nowhere scotland like literally in the highlands Surrounded by mountains just absolutely breathtaking Place to be and it was just like such a wonderful weird week of my life Yeah, it was great I am an american high school senior thinking about applying to university of edinburgh What are your thoughts on the advantages of studying four years in another country versus studying um abroad for one year? Honestly, if I could go back in time, I would have applied To go for four years. I I think at the time when I was 18, I was really scared by the idea of going abroad And so I didn't even consider it. However, I was and I don't know I don't know how I would have Handled it if I was 18 So, I mean hindsight's 2020 I think it's going away for college in and of itself is a really scary like big life changing thing that you do And like my first semester of college was really really hard. I went to a school out of state with about like 10 hours away by car and like about an hour flight from home and just that transition is a lot so I Can't imagine what it would have been like home sickness wise to move abroad on top of all of that So I will say like I think it depends on who you are as a person and what you think you can handle However, if you can power through that first semester, I just I really loved my year abroad and It was really sad to leave and I had made this really really wonderful life for myself That I could have seen going going onward Uh, however In studying abroad for one year is a very different experience like If you go for four years You are going to experience a good chunk of your youth in that other country like a lot of your socialization I mean, I'm not even social. Yeah, no, like so like I don't even know like adult socialization will be in another country So, I mean that is something to consider That's something that you do want and I think that you do have to be a little bit more sure because It can be hard to go back on if you don't Love it. However, I mean, I just I I fell in love with life There that I think it I don't know. I don't know. I really don't know I mean, it's it's like a really hard question to answer And I think either one is probably going to be a very valuable experience to you It's been I don't know really depends I mean, that's terrible advice, but I mean, that's just That's what I got. I think on the friends thing I really Encourage you guys to go check out some of my other videos and I'm not just like saying that to like Like be like not doing any videos, which like you should watch my other videos Um, I go way further into detail on these topics in like full dedicated videos So I'll I'll link a playlist So If those things if you're wondering what those things You can look there. Thank you guys so much for watching. It's always really fun getting to actually Like directly answer you super cool. Love that I'm gonna answer your actual comments soon because I keep forgetting to do that Anyway, thank you guys so much for watching. Have a good one