Hello!
Now it is my turn to write what I benefited from before I decided to stay abroad in America – experience reports.
I will try to answer the questions I asked myself before going abroad.
Preliminary considerations:
Probably the biggest question for everyone: should I really do this? What if I don’t like it at all? How is that going to go there? Can I really get along with the language?
First of all: It’s all nonsense! You will like it. You get to know people and make friends so quickly. In addition, the outstanding weather and the lifestyle in California. And the language is not a problem either – even if it is a bit bumpy at the beginning you can get in so quickly and it gets easier from day to day. I’ll tell you one thing: after the first day, all doubts are gone.
Just do it – it will be a huge life experience, just a time that you will never forget!
The next question that probably worries everyone who does not choose the safe option and rents an apartment at the university.
I do not recommend renting anything beforehand, just rent a motel for the first few days and then go looking there – you will find something, for sure. In addition, it is definitely cheaper and definitely a lot better than the university apartments. Websites such as craiglist.org or roommates.com or similar are helpful here. But you can find student residences everywhere near the university that you can look at at any time. In addition, there are notes from private individuals who rent rooms on every street corner.
I stayed at the Sterling Palms myself. A student residence not far from the unit, with a pool, jacuzzi, fitness room, etc. – Highly recommended. However, as with everything, you should be careful not to get ripped off. Before you take over the apartment, take a good look at everything before you sign that the apartment will be handed over without defects. If something is damaged in the end, you will be asked to pay.
The University:
In addition to the new attitude towards life in California and all the fun you have, you have to go to university every now and then š
As a mechanical engineer, I was probably an “exotic” one among the internationals. That had its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, the range of courses in mechanical engineering is not too extensive, but that’s not a problem either. In addition, it is also no problem to choose a course from a different subject area, which may not be that bad.
The big advantage is that you can get into the desired courses almost without any problems, which in some cases became a real problem with the business subjects. But in the end almost everyone somehow got into the desired courses.Ā Get more information about University of California Riverside on educationvv.
Mobility:
As you can already read from the other experience reports, the local public transport network cannot even be compared with the German one. If you have gathered for a few days and got to know other people, it makes sense to rent a car with several people. Of course, you also need a car for various excursions. Very important here – deal with the car rental companies and ask several questions. And don’t let the fee for drivers under the age of 25 be imposed on you either. They waived that for us after some negotiation time, so you can do it too.
Life:
Now to the life between the lectures, which should not be neglected either. Of course, the stay abroad should not only serve as a purely technical further education, but also culturally you should take some with you.
Many write that there is not much going on in Riverside itself – that is probably not entirely wrong, even if at least there are student parties from time to time. However, Riverside is very centrally located and you can get everywhere relatively quickly.
My absolute āfavoritesā were definitely the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. The Grand Canyon is an absolute must, simply indescribable and unique. You stand there on the precipice and look for miles into the distance and into the depths and it just seems so unrealistic – breathtaking.
After the wonder of nature to the wonder of entertainment – Las Vegas. The city, about a 3.5 hour drive away, is so surreal. It just consists of the strip with all the hotels and casinos. The whole city lives only from these few kilometers of road. But it’s just amazing – you have to experience it, sit at the roulette table once, party in Vegas once…
The convenient location of Riverside means that other destinations can be reached relatively quickly. Be it LA with Hollywood and everything that goes with it or the whole beaches in LA as well as surrounding cities like San Diego, Santa Barbara or Malibu.
In the end, I would like to think about all the people I met there and who made my semester abroad an unforgettable time.
I would also like to thank the MicroEDU team, who always helped you with every concern.
And have fun and success in your semester abroad!
