The Stupid American--Five Tips for Interning Abroad

 The Stupid American–Five Tips for Interning Abroad

Rita Stachurski

This summer I participated in the Global Fellows Program where I studied Landscape Architecture in Portugal. My day-to-day activities involved lots of biological surveying in the Porto Botanical Gardens, and I spent a good deal of time practicing R coding as well. I also had the opportunity to work with researchers in southern Portugal where we discussed desertification reversal tactics among other biological topics. Since it was my first time leaving the country, I’ve made a list of lessons that I think could help if you are also in my shoes–young, abroad, and not well-traveled.

Rita Stachurski in front of the Douro River.

1. Practice your high school vocab…you may never know when it will come in handy.

Before you study abroad, or even visit a country in Europe, plenty of people will tell you that the majority of Europeans speak English. While this may be true for Europe as a whole and for all touristy spots you may come across, the people in rural areas of your host country likely won’t know a lick of English–so practice the language of the country you are visiting! Besides it being a common decency, learning one European language makes all of the others easy to understand, so the knowledge will help if you decide to explore other countries while you’re abroad. While I was working in Portugal, the Spanish that I did remember helped me an incredible amount with directions and also just learning Portuguese in general. I wish I had worked harder to learn Portuguese before I went to Portugal, though. It would have been a much easier transition for me if I did, and I would have felt way more well-mannered!

2. The metro is your best friend.

This may be common knowledge for the native New Yorkers and city-dwellers of the States, but as someone from Tennessee, the Metro was an entirely new concept to me. The fact that I could get from where I was living in Campanha to every major part of Porto in addition to the beaches of Matosinhos in about 45 minutes was incredible. This applies to all trains too! I could get to Spain in an hour by train. I also accidentally got to see the beautiful German countryside after boarding my train to “Munich”. Unfortunately, my train went towards northern Germany, but I got to where I needed to go eventually, so all’s well that ends well.

Pro tip: Sometimes the signs don’t update in sync with the trains at the train station. If you get lost, though, just ride to the nearest big station and either buy a new ticket or ask to reroute. You will be okay!

3. See all the sights, and then look for more.

On the topic of sightseeing, looking for major landmarks isn’t the only thing you should search for while abroad. I have a terrible habit of choosing my one or two favorite spots wherever I’m living, and then I will refuse to explore anymore. Since I was in a new country with little knowledge of the language and only a few friends, exploring was really difficult for me at first. Eventually, I tried to make an effort to either find a new restaurant or a new hidden gem in my city every week (if not every day). This improved my experience so much because instead of hiding in my apartment all day and feeling homesick, I now have incredible stories to tell and life-changing memories to hold on to.

Left: A view of the Porto skyline from across the river.

Right: Rita Stachurski outside the castle walls in Mértola, Portugal.

4. If you can avoid it, don’t mention the states

I wish I was joking with this one, but unfortunately, I’m not. Where I studied in Portugal it was less of an issue, but when talking with certain people who were on erasmus I noticed lots of anti-American sentiment. It was both expected and surprising for me. The second I mentioned The United States people would look at me with a more condescending eye, and speak to me as though I were less intelligent than them. The abrupt change in tone and respect was entirely due to my country of origin and had nothing to do with a change in, well, me. If you have been warned before to look out for the “stupid American” jokes, trust me they are alive and well. I learned that the best thing to do is answer any questions that Europeans have about the states and take it as a learning opportunity rather than just an insult. If you are one of the only Americans they have met, and you respond poorly to the jabs, just remember that your reaction reflects us all. A little patience goes a long way.

5. Talk to everyone. I’m serious. 

I know Gen Z sometimes gets laughed at for our love of social media, and on top of that Americans are sometimes scoffed at for being too friendly, but talk to everyone. Get everyone's socials, too while you're at it. I have met an amazing array of people not only from Portugal, but also from Romania, Poland, Spain, and then weirdly enough also…Iowa? Hey, Corey and Callum if you’re reading this! All of these people helped make my summer abroad truly memorable, and I still talk to the majority of them to this day. We’re even planning a reunion so that we can see each other again, and I cannot wait to see them! More practically, it’s also a great way to widen your network, since the majority of the young people I met were graduate students or undergraduates who were also studying abroad. Now I know that I have contacts in other countries who I can depend on if I need help. Likewise, if any of them are in the United States and need a friend, they always have someone to call.

Left: Collage of pictures with friends from various countries.

Right top: Rita Stachurski and Vet Colleague collecting data on the Iberian Hares.

Right Bottom: Goats in the Gerês National Park.

Some Final Thoughts:

If you are thinking of studying abroad or working an internship abroad, I cannot encourage you enough. If anyone asked me if it was worth it, a million times over I’d say it was. Although I didn’t talk about it here, my host organization at the University of Porto was more than supportive in all of my academic endeavors from the summer, and I feel that my academics flourished just as much as my personal growth. I got to experience another culture while honing the skills I’ve learned in the classroom, and through it all my mentors were there to teach me. If you study abroad, you will learn so much inside and outside of your formal work, and you will grow as a person because of it! I hope these few tips help you in your journey, and always remember, that you are not just a stupid American–you are simply a learning one.