Another way of spending time abroad is doing an ERASMUS semester abroad. In this episode, my guest Alina and I speak about her exchange semester in Belgium and why Belgium wasn't her first choice initially.

Listen to this episode if you want to learn:

• How to juggle your relationship when studying abroad
• Why deadlines are so important 
• What you need to consider for housing when studying abroad 
• Why you should not care so much about grades

These are my favorite quotes of the episode:

• 3:54: "During my bachelors I wanted to go abroad, but I was a bit too late to go overseas"
• 20:42"What helped the most is that we both knew it was limited to 6-months (talking about relationships and going abroad)"
• 22:17: "Looking back now, it was an overall positive experience." 
• 33:14: "If you have the opportunity: do it! You will never regret it! Never!"
• 34:55: "Say more yes than no because time is limited."

Do you have any questions, tips for improvement, or you're seeking more inspiration?
Then follow me on IG: https://www.instagram.com/chrigerdes/

Do you have any questions, tips for improvement, or you're seeking more inspiration for moving abroad? Then follow me on: IG & TikTok: @chrigerdes and YouTube: Beyond-an-ordinary-life
If you like this podcast, then please hit the subscribe button and give me a rating or review. This helps more than you know to get this podcast out to like-minded people who want to learn how to move abroad, too! I appreciate your help a lot!

After graduating from high school, my guest Laura and her friend decided that they wanted to travel together to New Zealand and Australia. In this episode, Laura shares the perceptions of taking a gap year in Denmark to follow their dreams, as there is time to study and work later.  She states that many people in Denmark take up to 4 gap years and shared tips on how to save money to do so.

Listen to this episode if you want to learn:

• Why you shouldn't wait to take a gap year
• How to organize a gap year 
• How to finance a gap year 

These are my favorite quotes from the episode: 

• "If you want to travel, you have to do it now!" (3:43min)
• "It was very comfortable, because you could also talk to someone about the decisions if you were in doubt" (5:56min)

Do you have any questions, tips for improvement, or you're seeking more inspiration for moving abroad? Then follow me on: IG & TikTok: @chrigerdes and YouTube: Beyond-an-ordinary-life
If you like this podcast, then please hit the subscribe button and give me a rating or review. This helps more than you know to get this podcast out to like-minded people who want to learn how to move abroad, too! I appreciate your help a lot!

Before starting high school, Carina wanted to gain experience abroad by going to a boarding school in England at the age of 16.

Listen to this episode if you want to learn:

• Why you should visit the school before selecting your final school
• Why you shouldn't worry too much about your language skills
• Why you should be prepared that English boarding schools are very different to German boarding schools
• How to connect with fellow students and why sharing a flat was helpful
• How to finance a boarding school by applying for scholarships and financial support

These are my favorite quotes of the episode:

• DE"Ich bin dann immer so ein Mensch..ich mahe das dann einfach" (4:48m) EN: I am that kinda person who just decides "I am gonna do it now".
• DE: "Mein Englisch war jetzt OK, aber auch nicht super toll. Ich habe noch nie den ganzen Tag English gesprochen. (4:54min)  EN: My English skills were ok, but not particularly good. I never spoke English the entire day before. 
• DE: "Man durfte nicht zusammen mit einem Jungen alleine im Raum sein" (7:21m) EN: We weren't allowed to be alone in a room with boys.
• DE: "Ich war da auch nicht allein, ich war auch nicht die einzige Deutsche und ich war auch nicht die Einzige, die außerhalb aus England dahingekommen ist. Und natürlich hat man dann auch immer den Punkt. Man hat was, es verbindet einen was. Aber ich glaube, es ist schon wichtig, dass man bewusst Kontakt zu den Leuten sucht, die aus dem Ort kommen. (9:20m) EN: I have to say that I wasn't the only one and I wasn't the only German or only foreigner coming to study at an English boarding school. Then you'll easily find sth. that connects you. However, I think it's important to connect with the local people from the school as well."
•  DE: "Ich muss schon sagen, das ist natürlich schon sehr teuer. Das ist etwas, was ich nicht alleine hätte stämmen können." (11:26) EN: I have to admit that it's indeed quite expensive. I wouldn't have been able to go without the financial support of my parents. 

Do you have any questions, tips for improvement, or you're seeking more inspiration for moving abroad? Then follow me on: IG & TikTok: @chrigerdes and YouTube: Beyond-an-ordinary-life
If you like this podcast, then please hit the subscribe button and give me a rating or review. This helps more than you know to get this podcast out to like-minded people who want to learn how to move abroad, too! I appreciate your help a lot!

Following up the episode where Nhi talks about her travels in Vietnam, this episode deals with her experience studying at the Universiti of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

Listen to this episode if you want to learn:

• Why Nhi decided to study in Malaysia and why it is the complete opposite to Denmark
• What to consider when planning an exchange semester (e.g., pre-approval, applying for monetary support and grants etc.)
• How not to pay tuition fees 
• What is important to consider when studying abroad in Malaysia 
• Uncovering the cultural differences in Malaysia and the biggest differences between studying in Denmark and Malaysia
• How to make national and international friends abroad
• Lessons learned and the mistakes you can prevent when studying abroad 

These are my favorite quotes of the episode:

• "Be culturally aware. Be aware of how your culture is different from theirs and be very accepting of that it's different and it's fine."
• "I thought I did my research but apparently I should have researched more."
• "They always have ladies night. Every single night is ladies night."
• "Bite your tongue. Like choose your battles! Is it really that important?"
• "At least at my exams I noticed that a lot of people would try to cheat. I saw one guy put Post-it notes underneath his shoes"
• "You're going to go in there. You're gonna have an open mind and just be very social and talk to everyone and just introduce yourself. You don't have anyone now. You have no one to lean against."

Do you have any questions, tips for improvement, or you're seeking more inspiration for moving abroad? Then follow me on: IG & TikTok: @chrigerdes and YouTube: Beyond-an-ordinary-life
If you like this podcast, then please hit the subscribe button and give me a rating or review. This helps more than you know to get this podcast out to like-minded people who want to learn how to move abroad, too! I appreciate your help a lot!

Another way of spending time abroad is travelling in a country for a significant amount of time. So did my guest Nhi who is talking about her experiences of travelling to Vietnam for 2 months after graduating from high school. Travelling for a longer amount of time in Vietnam helped her learn a lot about herself, but also about her two friends that accompanied her.

Listen to this episode if you want to learn:

• The importance of setting expectations with travel buddies to reduce conflict
• The perks of travelling with friends vs. solo travelling
• How to experience other cultures the best way possible 
• How to juggle planning a trip vs. adjusting to unexpected changes 
• What you can learn from travelling
• Vietnam travel tips that you need to remember 

Nhi and I met during our exchange semester in Malaysia, studying at the University of Kuala Lumpur. In the next episode, we will talk about our experiences studying in Malaysia as well.

These are my favorite quotes of the episode:

• "In the end it's the memories that you can never get back, or it's just an experience that will be forever in your memory."
• "A talk before you go travelling together and just talk about your expectations."
• "..Because I thought I knew these people so well and then when you get there it's like everything annoys you.."
• "Of course I am going to remember that moment as something positive. I am not gonna think back about all the times we had to go around in the middle of the night to find a hostel.."

Do you have any questions, tips for improvement, or you're seeking more inspiration for moving abroad? Then follow me on: IG & TikTok: @chrigerdes and YouTube: Beyond-an-ordinary-life
If you like this podcast, then please hit the subscribe button and give me a rating or review. This helps more than you know to get this podcast out to like-minded people who want to learn how to move abroad, too! I appreciate your help a lot!

In this episode, I am speaking to my guest Oscar who moved from England to Denmark for his studies.

Listen to this episode if you want to learn:

• Why moving abroad differs from travelling to different countries
• How to overcome financial challenges living abroad 
• How to juggle being away from family and friends 
• The struggles of learning Danish
• How Danes tick and what makes the Danish culture special
• How to make friends with Danes 
• Tips from Oscar on how to move abroad

These are my favorite quotes of the episode:

• "When you go somewhere to visit for vacation, as you say for holidays, you only see the top surface, the top layer of everything. Whereas when you live there you see the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of things" (06.11 min)
• "It is not out of the question to be living here and only speaking English" (15.16 min)
• "I would 100% recommend moving to Denmark" (34.45 min)
• "Prepare for the wind and the rain" (36.40 min)
• "I think we put these mental barriers up to say like why we can't do things. But really look hard and say, what is actually stopping us?"(37.59 min)

Do you have any questions, tips for improvement, or you're seeking more inspiration for moving abroad? Then follow me on: IG & TikTok: @chrigerdes and YouTube: Beyond-an-ordinary-life
If you like this podcast, then please hit the subscribe button and give me a rating or review. This helps more than you know to get this podcast out to like-minded people who want to learn how to move abroad, too! I appreciate your help a lot!

In this episode, my guest Livia talks about her early upbringing and how her parents empowered her at an early age to go abroad.  She went to an international camp in Finland at the age of eleven, language camps in Malta and Ireland, and at the age of 16 she moved to Argentina as an exchange student for 11 months. Further down the episode, she talks about why studying in Italy wasn't for her and what led her to study in Denmark. As a result, she shared her challenges, frustrations but also the perks of living, studying, and working in Denmark. Finally, she uncovers high cultural differences between Denmark and her home country and gives valuable advice to the listeners who want to go abroad, too.
 
Listen to this episode if you want to learn:

• How to improve your language skills by attending language camps at an early age
• That it's hard to move abroad but why it's worth it
• How to overcome pushback for moving abroad from society
• How and why you should study in Denmark
• How to get paid for studying
• Why you shouldn't be in constant contact with family and friends when moving abroad

These are my favorite quotes from the episode: 

• "I definitively did not expect it to be as different from the Italian culture given its proximity" (29.18 min)
• "I've definitely become more open than I would have ever been if I had stayed in my hometown or home country" (43.18 min)
• "Abroad has become much closer to home than we used to think" (39.50 min)
• "In actuality, you can't fall behind if you're not running the same race" (45.26 min)
• "You can do so much more than you think you are capable of!" (46.55 min)

Do you have any questions, tips for improvement, or you're seeking more inspiration for moving abroad? Then follow me on: IG & TikTok: @chrigerdes and YouTube: Beyond-an-ordinary-life
If you like this podcast, then please hit the subscribe button and give me a rating or review. This helps more than you know to get this podcast out to like-minded people who want to learn how to move abroad, too! I appreciate your help a lot!

Thank you for listening to this first episode! I am very excited to finally launch my podcast and hope you will enjoy it! 

In this episode, I want to introduce myself and my 5 years' experience of living abroad in countries like the USA, Mexico, Malaysia, and Denmark. I talk about my initial challenges and what I ended up doing in these countries. Moreover, you will find out what this podcast is all about and how I am helping you to follow your dream of going abroad, too!

Do you have any questions, tips for improvement, or you're seeking more inspiration?  
Then follow me on IG: https://www.instagram.com/chrigerdes/

Do you have any questions, tips for improvement, or you're seeking more inspiration for moving abroad? Then follow me on: IG & TikTok: @chrigerdes and YouTube: Beyond-an-ordinary-life
If you like this podcast, then please hit the subscribe button and give me a rating or review. This helps more than you know to get this podcast out to like-minded people who want to learn how to move abroad, too! I appreciate your help a lot!

Did you always dream about going abroad, but there are so many things holding you back from executing on it? You might have a girlfriend/boyfriend, financial challenges, no idea what to do or are afraid that your English isn’t good enough?  

Welcome to my life – this was me 8 years ago.  

Little did I know back then that by the age of 28 I would have lived abroad in four different countries like the USA, Mexico, Malaysia, and Denmark for more than 5 years. Did I catch your attention?  Then you know that this podcast is for you!   

Do you have any questions, tips for improvement, or you're seeking more inspiration?  
Then follow me on IG: https://www.instagram.com/chrigerdes/

Do you have any questions, tips for improvement, or you're seeking more inspiration for moving abroad? Then follow me on: IG & TikTok: @chrigerdes and YouTube: Beyond-an-ordinary-life
If you like this podcast, then please hit the subscribe button and give me a rating or review. This helps more than you know to get this podcast out to like-minded people who want to learn how to move abroad, too! I appreciate your help a lot!