University of Missouri, Columbia

If you haven´t had the study abroad experience, you would think that you are going to learn the language. If you go, you will find out, or at least I did, that you will change. All the influence there is from your friends, from the culture you are surrounded by etc. might really change your personality - usually in a very positive way. If you can afford to do it, go for it. Tip: Talk to people! Because then not only your English is going to improve, you will also get tips and advice that make your experience unique and truly American.

When I left the States, some friends told me:¨Now you speak like an American. In the first weeks, it always took you some seconds to process what I said to you, now your answers just come out of your mouth instantly¨. I was glad to hear things like that and realized that I learned a great deal during my year in Columbia. That college town is quite close to Saint Louis, the place in the US where people go to learn to speak without accent, to learn the standard American English. I was glad to be surrounded by people like that.

Traveling is expensive, but you should definitely do it! Plan well ahead, compare prices, and you will get great deals if it comes to domestic flights or hostels.

I wanted to have the typical American college experience - share a room, live together, learn from each other. Since I shared a room with an American, I had a great opportunity to get used to the American culture. On the floor on which I lived, the system was that an American student lives with a foreign student. Not only did I make dozens of American friends, I also met people from all over the world. Plus, being around them, I got an idea what their cultures were like, how they had been raised. My year in the United States, including the on campus-housing experience, was the best I have ever had.

First of all hitting bars in the States is different than in Europe, since the bars close at around 1am. So there is less clubbing and much more going to bars, as far as my experience goes. Since I became good friends with people from Japan, Cameroon, Australia, Mexico and other countries that were rather ¨unknown¨ to me, we tried to go to places that offer a bit of these cultures. Be it restaurants, little cafes or sports events. I had a great time at a place called ¨RagTag¨, a mixture of a cafe, bar and cinema. Also, there is a place called ¨Fieldhouse¨, a bar with two floors that had an atmosphere so exciting like I have never seen it before in Europe.