From Rome to Wales: A Recent Grad’s Study Abroad and Work Abroad Adventures

Felicia Shelton: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for yet again, tuning in to another episode of In My Travels. I am your host, Felicia Shelton. And today we are going to talk about study abroad. Yes, because this podcast is about study abroad. And it’s also about how travel affects you personally and professionally.

And we have a lovely guest. I am so lucky to have her in the studio today. We have our first guest about study abroad. She’s going to talk to us about study abroad. Her name is Emily Hemphill and I’m going to let Emily describe herself, introduce herself for a couple of minutes before we get into the meat and potatoes of this podcast.

Thank you, Emily, for coming.

Emily Hemphill: Thank you, Felicia, for having me. This is awesome. So my name is Emily Hemphill and I am a reporter at the Daily Progress in Charlottesville. And I graduated college in Last May, and during college, I studied abroad in Rome over the summer after my second year. And then following graduation, I spent three months working, traveling, having fun in Wales.

Felicia Shelton: Oh, okay. Wales. From Rome to Wales. All right. Now, Emily, what made you decide to study abroad in Rome? Was it a place you had always wanted to visit?

Emily Hemphill: So, Rome was never. It was more of that I knew I wanted to study abroad, and so Rome kind of just fell into my lap, I think. I started college fall 2020. I graduated high school during the pandemic. I started college during the pandemic. My first year of college was pretty much shot. And then I had my second year of college and that was relatively normal, but it just, you know, everyone’s like the best four years of your life. That wasn’t happening for me. And I knew that I had been confined to my house or dorm room for the past two to three years.

And so I wanted to get out and they announced Mary Washington where I went that study abroad programs were back up and running and I was like, I got to do it You gotta do it. Yes. Yeah, so I just started kind of looking around at the different programs that were being offered and I think Italy just immediately caught my attention.

My mom’s family is Italian and …

Felicia Shelton: Got that Italian connection.

Emily Hemphill: Yeah, just a little bit. I mean we’re holding on to a few drops, but, yeah. Italy caught my attention and then the Rome program just kind of lined up the most with, they had classes that I was really interested in taking and just, I just kind of went with it.

Felicia Shelton: Okay, so you mentioned classes. So what was your major?

Emily Hemphill: I was political science major, journalism minor, And, but surprisingly, I didn’t need any credits, to go towards my, I didn’t need to take a political science class while I was studying abroad. I just kind of, the credits would count. But they were offering, so I wound up taking a creative writing class and a public speaking course while I was over there.

And that I’m some of my favorite classes that I’ve ever taken.

Felicia Shelton: Oh, we’re going to get into that. Now did you study for a year or was it a semester?

Emily Hemphill: It was a summer. So, so I think it was a six-week program. Yeah, starting end of June. To beginning of August, I believe.

Felicia Shelton: Now, for a lot of listeners, there may be some listeners here who don’t have a study abroad program at their university or their, their college.

Had you always known about study abroad? A lot of people don’t know that they actually have a study abroad office on their campus. How did you even know about study abroad?

Emily Hemphill: So, I think I first heard of study abroad program, well, to my parents credit, they both were like, get out and travel while you can, college is a great time to do that.

So that was kind of already in the back of my head, you know, in high school when I was applying to colleges. And so I was in the honors program. College at Mary Washington, and they did also put an emphasis on studying abroad and they will help you get connected with that, because sometimes if you’re taking an honors course then maybe you feel like you don’t have enough time to study abroad.

But actually, we did have a pretty good study abroad department they, Promoted themselves pretty well at Mary Washington, or maybe it was just because they were opening up after COVID. And so they were trying to kickstart it back.

Felicia Shelton: That’s a good point. That’s a very, very good point. Because sometimes I feel like the study abroad departments of universities, they don’t advertise that much.

So the students don’t know, or only certain students know, like maybe the honor kids like yourself. And I think it’s important for us to not only know about it because maybe your professors say, Hey, you should do this for the summer, et cetera, et cetera. But it’s also, I think, the responsibility of the campus, the study abroad offices to get the word out to all the students.

Emily Hemphill: I would say. Once I started to go down the process I had to have friends who’d be like, oh, that’s so cool I wish I had this like in the back of my mind or I would have planned things differently because I would have loved to study abroad and Then it kind of gets to the point in your college journey where you I don’t have the time I can’t take a semester off or I don’t want to leave my friends for this important semester So I would definitely I it probably was them promoting themselves after I think the summer that I went was the first start back up into studying abroad.

Felicia Shelton: Oh, nice. That’s so important. And yeah, and that, that way you’ve done the study abroad, and like you said, your friends were saying, Wow, I wish I would have done that, or had I known about that, I would have planned my courses differently. But then also you can be that ambassador when you come back to that college campus to, to help maybe boost or increase the numbers of students studying abroad.

That’s really, really great. So was it a smooth process? Yes. So you, you said. Rome fell into your lap. They had some, you took some really great courses over the summer and but what was the process like because I’ve studied abroad and the process is not always as easy as you think.

Emily Hemphill: Yes, it is so much more stressful than I anticipated especially because I know a lot of study abroad programs will be like through a class.

So you’ll have a professor and you go as a group. That wasn’t my experience. It was just my college had some kind of connection with it was with study abroad Italy. So this essay I Rome so and they were even a third party. Yeah. So I was taking courses at John Cabot University, which is an American university in Rome.

That’s right. But I was living and like doing programs through SAI. So I had to do all this paperwork to get into the SAI stuff. And, but then also with Jon Kabat. And so since it was like this third party, my unit, the, they helped me, but a lot of it was like, I need to figure out this on my own. I need to get my passport renewed.

I need to all that stuff. So it was. A lot more complicated, a lot more time consuming than I anticipated, and also, I didn’t really have anyone to help me navigate all of that.

Felicia Shelton: That’s right. Welcome to adulting.

Emily Hemphill: Yeah, that’s true. That, and then, I mean, and then trying to work in Wales was a whole other situation, which we can get into.

Felicia Shelton: Yes, we will get into Wales because I, when you told me that you had worked in Wales, you know, I said, Oh my God, I have to have Emily on the podcast for sure. So yes, so like you said, you had to navigate on your own, you know, getting your passport renewed and all of the other things. You know, I remember.

When I studied abroad in, in France, there, there’s not just the passport, there’s, you know, the visa, the study abroad visa, or the, the student visa, and all of the appointments that you have to set up with the, the consulate before you actually get on the plane. into the classroom. So it’s not as easy as everyone, you know, may think it is, you know, you just have to do it.

If you want to do it, you have to do it. And you find out that you have to navigate a lot and do a lot of things on your own before you even get to that university. So kudos to you.

Emily Hemphill: It was stressful.

Felicia Shelton: It’s a lot. It’s a lot. So, okay, so let’s get into Rome. I’ve never been to Rome, been to, I’ve been to Italy, but not to Rome.

What were some of the biggest cultural differences you noticed when you first arrived in Rome? So,

Emily Hemphill: I guess this is probably true for any major city in the world, but definitely the pace was, I mean, I come from. a tiny town in Southwest Virginia. So I think the pace, but also, which is interesting because it feels very busy and bustling when you’re in the city, but then also when you are sitting in a cafe or maybe talking with an Italian, they’re like, Oh, chill.

Live life. It’s all good. So I think that was one of the things I first noticed. I think everyone says the eating and drinking is different. Just when you eat throughout the day, what meals look like how so? Well, Italians decide dinner time is like. Earliest 9:00 PM and then on wow. Which I think is similar to maybe Spain.

Felicia Shelton: I’ve heard. I remember Spain eating dinner at, you know, making it a dinner reservation at 10 30 at night.

Emily Hemphill: Yeah. And if you wanted to get into the, a busy place, you know, you could go early, which is like 8, 8:30. And then everyone’s kind of looking at you like, why are, why are these Americans here so early?

Which is, was, that was definitely a big change. And so, you know. It’s, maybe you’ll go out and have a glass of wine and some appetizers, aperitivo, at like five or six, and then you just kind of keep drinking some glasses of wine, and then you decide, oh, maybe I should eat some food at like 9 p. m.

There you go. That’ll work. Yeah. So that was, that was the change. It was, I liked it. That was a really cool cultural difference. But then I think the biggest difference I noticed was in the way that. I guess like their demeanor and the way you present yourself. Hmm. Because I noticed that, I mean, I don’t look very Italian, but I could, if someone passed me on the street, if I was wearing the right thing, you know, maybe they wouldn’t automatically assume I was American.

Felicia Shelton: Oh, because you, to me, you look Italian.

Emily Hemphill: I think I have a few Italian features, but, you know, until I open my mouth and they’re like, Oh, she’s not from here.

Felicia Shelton: But then you mentioned wearing, because, you know, Italy is very famous for all of their beautiful fashion, the textiles, et cetera. So. So are you saying there’s the American way of dressing how would you dress to sort of blend in, so to speak with Italian culture?

Emily Hemphill: Right. Well, so another thing about my time there was we were getting heat wave after heat wave. So it was genuinely a hundred degrees Fahrenheit, like every single day. I think the coldest it got when I was there was like 97 degrees Fahrenheit. And so, I mean, even, even the Italians were like, yeah, we’re, this is, we’re not used to this.

So that was, Something to overcome, for sure, was like all of that. So, definitely, it was a long skirt summer, and I’m not typically a skirt person, but long, flowier skirts if you saw anyone probably wearing jeans, or jean shorts, or anything, or athletic clothing, also, if you saw anyone on the street with athletic clothing, you were like, There’s an American, They’re not from here.

Felicia Shelton: Yeah, they’re not. Yeah. Yeah. It’s the same thing in France. Usually, people don’t walk around in yoga pants and, and things like that. You just don’t do that. Yoga pants, you know, it’s for the gym or a yoga studio, but you definitely wouldn’t wear that. There’s no athleisure walking around in Paris.

Emily Hemphill: Yeah. So I think that was the big thing. And so. You know, if you go into a cafe and you want to order some coffee or a pastry, and if you happen to be wearing the right thing that day Italians are like, they’re going right up to the bar, they know what they want, they’re not staring at the menu for five minutes trying to decide, and they’re ordering it, and it’s a It’s quick.

It’s a nice transaction. It’s very quick. Yeah, if you see like someone standing there looking at the menu looking around maybe You know asking the whoever serving the cake, you know, oh, what should I get and you’re like, oh American.

Felicia Shelton: I love it. I love it. Now, okay, so your interactions with because with other students so were you in classrooms with other Italian students or was it just all Americans or other foreigners?

Emily Hemphill: It was a nice blend. We had in my public speaking class, there were probably 15 of us. I would say like two to three were Italians. A majority were probably Americans, but then there were a fair share of just international students from all over. Oh, that’s great.

Felicia Shelton: So that was really cool. That is great. Because, you know, the thing about study abroad, I just don’t want to be, or I don’t want to send my kid to just, okay, there’s, you’re just going to learn with a bunch of other Americans. I want them to be in a real, even though it was, you studied at John Cabot. Mm hmm. It’s a lot of other internationals, but also I would like to have Italian students in the classroom.

So that’s great. Any big differences being a student in Italy? Like what were the expectations your Italian professors had on you versus what? What expectations Americans have on you, like what was student life? Did you have more autonomy in Italy or, you know, were you just on your own in Italy versus maybe having more help here as an American student?

Emily Hemphill: I would say definitely more autonomy in Italy. We did a lot of stuff. That maybe isn’t typical in an American classroom my creative writing class I think we went on a field trip about every other day. So we would go out into the city so I think a lot of it maybe was catering towards, you know, these are students studying abroad and Let’s show them and so that my professor for that course was Italian, had lived in Rome her whole life.

And so she was kind of taking us, she was showing us the real Rome and so taking us to more authentic parts of the city, you know, this is where you can get Jewish cuisine, Italian Jewish cuisine, which is something, you know, you don’t really find in many parts of the world. And I’ve even heard of that.

Yeah. Yeah. There’s a big Jewish. neighborhood in Rome, and so that’s where you can get, you know, fried artichokes served better than anywhere else. And so she exposed us to that part of Rome, and then we would maybe be out sitting on the steps of some piazza.

Felicia Shelton: That’s amazing. Oh my gosh.

Emily Hemphill: And she would, you know, would just have different writing exercises for us. And so that was really cool. Or we watched an old Italian movie one day that was set in Rome, and then the next day we went out to the neighborhood where it was filmed and then we’re supposed to, like, kind of write about the differences between how we thought this neighborhood was looking, gonna look like when we watched the movie and then when we got there and then.

Felicia Shelton: That sounds fun. It is cool. Yeah, especially in the summertime, summertime in Rome. I think I was, yeah, it was the summer. I was in Perugia. There was an Italian professor which became a, he became a friend of mine at VCU. I graduated from VCU and Professore Mazzullo took his students, the VCU students to Perugia for the summer. And then I was studying in France. And so he said, when, when you finish your study abroad experience, why don’t you come to Italy and, you know, join us and just sort of hang out with us? Different experience. It was great. I loved every second of my study abroad in France. I was in Angers, in the Loire Valley. But when I got to Italy, I said, I should have taken up maybe maybe in addition to French, I should have taken Italian as well. It’s a different experience. I loved it. What were some of the biggest adjustments living there? So you’re a student there, you’re taking these wonderful classes, you’re having this wonderful experience with your fellow classmates, but living there, like you’re living arrangements buying groceries because, you know, sometimes people don’t think, oh, you know, they don’t think about those things.

They’re just thinking about the college experience, but some of the daily things that you have to do, you know, finding the grocery store or did you, did you, I know it was for summer, but did you find your favorite place to buy groceries, you know, or did you go to the market, open market? What was that like?

Emily Hemphill: So the grocery store that I often went to was underneath this clothing department store. And apparently that’s not rare, which was surprising to me because you know, you’re like walking down the street and you’re trying to find Oh, let me just look in through these windows and see if this is a grocery store But it was underground there and there’s like no signage So I think maybe someone in my class told me about like where the because I was like, are you guys buying food?

So I thought was funny to me. It was, like, I would have had no idea that this was a nice grocery store beneath this clothing department store. And so that was where I found most of my groceries. But I think the biggest challenge was going there and then realizing, like, it’s just me. I don’t know anyone here.

The people I was, so I was living with. five other girls and three of them came together and then the other two came together and then it was me. And I wouldn’t have had it any other way. But that was probably the biggest challenge was having moments of like I, maybe you go out one night and you’re out with friends and you, like, you want to get back.

And then you’re like, okay, now let me try and get a cab in Italian or, you know, find some way to get back. And it’s not like you can just call up your friend and be like, Hey, I need a ride back. That’s right. And so I just, I think realizing I need to figure. Anything, anything that comes up, I need to figure this out on my own.

There’s a six-hour time difference and I can’t just call my parents or call a friend back home. So I think that definitely was a big growth moment for me.

Felicia Shelton: I think so. And, and you, you know, with you describing that, you know, three of your roommates, they were already friends. So they already knew each other.

And then the other two, and then there’s you. So ultimately you have to figure things out on your own and in another language, in another country. And sometimes, you know, you, that’s a good thing, but then sometimes you just be like, Oh my God, I just want to find this type of bread or, or my favorite something.

And no one speaks, maybe, you know, maybe they have a little bit of English, but you have to figure it out on your own. And, you know, with parents. I’m not a parent, but I know when parents send their kids off to to university, you know, this is the first time that that young person will be on their own, but you’re In our American culture, so you know what to do, you have the apps and, and all these things, but when you go to Italy, and depending on what maybe city that you go to, they might not have the same apps or access to, to, you know, ABC, you know, whatever it is, so you have to figure it out on your own.

And that’s hard. And, you know, sometimes you, they’re, you know, I think maybe one or two times I, I actually started crying. I was like, I just want to, I want people to understand what I’m talking about. And it’s very frustrating when you can’t express yourself to someone to the level that they will understand you and help you.

So did you have like a moment where you just like, you know, maybe using curse words, you know, or did you just, just roll with the punches?

Emily Hemphill: I’m trying to remember if there was, there was one time. I think this was probably one of the most frustrated I got. I was trying to, I was taking a train to Sorrento for the weekend. I was going, yeah. And so I had bought the tickets ahead of time. You know, I was trying to be prepared, get everything together that I could.

Yeah. And then I get to the train station and the times that I would like, I was like, Oh, my train’s supposed to leave at this time. Wasn’t matching up with, the trains that were on the screen. I was like, well, this is weird. What train am I taking? I had bought it for the wrong day, so I had bought it for the day after that I was planning on leaving.

And I’m standing there and, you know, some of the attendees speak a little bit of English but it’s, the communication isn’t working out and I’m just like, is there any way that I can just exchange this? Is there a and they’re like No, get another ticket. And I was like, but this is like, this is gonna cost me, you know, over 100 to make this change.

You know, it wasn’t one of those. Yeah. Yeah. And I had gotten up early to get this trains. I was tired I was trying to but I think that was I’m just like standing in this train station There’s hundreds of people just sprinting around me and I’m just yeah.

Felicia Shelton: Oh, I feel bad. I’m feeling all the feelings for you because I can’t imagine, you know, you’re there and like you said you and that took me oh, it took me a while to learn the Paris Metro when I first arrived there.

I think I was 21. I wasn’t even a student I was like, oh my god, how am I gonna get from there there? But the transportation thing and the times and I think I don’t know The times or the dates are the date is written in a certain way. I think it’s what is it. Is it?

Emily Hemphill: I think they do day, month, year. Day, month, year, which makes sense. But it’s, yeah, it’s different.

Felicia Shelton: Yeah. And especially when you’re trying to take the train in Italy, do you have to validate your ticket before you get on the train? Yeah. I think I think my husband and I, we were recently in, in Portugal and we forgot to do that. But, you know, they understood. It was okay. We didn’t have to pay a fine, thank goodness. Mm hmm. But we, we had forgotten to, to, to validate the ticket.

Emily Hemphill: I mean, there’s so many of those little things that are like that we don’t do here, but it’s just a daily occurrence there.

Felicia Shelton: That’s right. That’s right. Those things. Those will throw you off. Oh my gosh. All right. So you had this wonderful experience in Rome. Right. You get there. It’s amazing. Now you come back here. Or did you immediately. Let’s talk about. How I want to see if your study abroad experience helped you in any way to get your was it an internship in Wales?  

Emily Hemphill: Wales is interesting. It did [help].

So after my program ended in Rome, I went to, went to Amsterdam, spent a few nights there, and then I traveled to Cardiff, the capital of Wales. Mm hmm. My mom’s cousin, who’s just a few years older than me, she married a guy from Wales, and so they moved over there after they got married, and so I was like, well, I’m in Europe, might as well pop on over to Wales to see this cousin.

So spent a week in Cardiff, absolutely loved it. And then I flew out of London to come back to the States after study abroad. And so I had reconnected with that cousin, obviously a little bit while I was staying with them. Yeah. And then I come back and I start my third and final year of college.

She sends me a text of this job and it’s a, like, essentially a camp counselor position at this international college in like about a 45 minute drive west of Cardiff. And she was like, Hey, I know you’re about to graduate and you have no plans whatsoever. Want to, want to spend your summer in Wales?

And so I. And she, to this day, she’s like, I didn’t think you were going to do it. Like, like, why would you have done it?

Felicia Shelton: Don’t underestimate Emily, everybody. Please.

Emily Hemphill: Oh, geez. Yeah. So I was looking at it and it was a 10 week paid job. You lived there. They feed you. And then you, the details were very vague at this point.

My parents kept asking, so what are you going to be doing? I was like, I don’t really know. Yeah. I just kind of figured, I just applied. They’re just going to

Felicia Shelton: pay me for 10 weeks and I’ll have room and board. And that’s all I know.

Emily Hemphill: And that’s, and so I but having already gone to Wales after Italy, I knew that I really liked it.

And then. But I mean, if I hadn’t gone to Rome, there’s no way I would have been like, Oh, let me go spend the summer in Wales. Oh, really?

Felicia Shelton: Okay. And why is that?

Emily Hemphill: Because I, I knew that I could do it. I knew that I could travel to the other side of the world by myself. felt comfortable putting myself in an unfamiliar space.

I knew that I can fly internationally by myself. Cause that’s a big, sometimes that’s like a big barrier for people to overcome is like, this is true. Thankfully there wasn’t a language barrier this time. Sometimes I felt like it.

Felicia Shelton: Yeah. I was about to say, yeah, wait a minute. See, that’s the thing. Everybody. Studying abroad builds that confidence. That is so amazing that you just said, had I not had that study abroad experience in Rome, I would not have even thought about going to Wales to work that is huge. Because now you have the confidence.

Hey, I know how to do this. I know how to be in an unfamiliar environment where, you know, these are, you know, I’m outside of the U. S., you know, and that’s already something huge. But tell me more about this experience. So you’re like, mom, dad, I don’t know what I’m going to be doing. It’s a job. And, and so you get the job. Yes.

Emily Hemphill: So I apply, there’s a couple of interviews get the job. And then, but the thing was, everyone else who was applying for these jobs were UK citizens. I’m pretty sure everyone, I mean, they weren’t all British in nationality, but they were all at the time UK citizens.

And so I was like, well, I need to work there. Like, you need to get a work permit. How do I, they, they couldn’t help me. They were like, we’ll give you the job and you can get over here, but you also need a work permit. And so, how do you get a work permit?

Felicia Shelton: Hello, everyone. Now the adult has stepped into the room because you can get that job everybody. You know, right now on every tick tock on every Instagram that, you know, you know, study abroad or work abroad. “You know, I live in Paris or I live, you know.” But they don’t go really into detail about how to do that. Yes, you can study abroad. In some countries, you will have the opportunity to study abroad, and once you graduate from that program, you will have a two-year work visa. So, that’s, and I think England does that.

But now, you have the job, but they’re not going to help you. This is very surprising. Most of the time, they will help you, but this particular you said it was college. They said, hey, we’ll give you the job. But you figure out the work visa on your own. So go tell me what that’s about.

Emily Hemphill: So. So I needed, I figured out, I needed to get a certificate of…

Felicia Shelton: Proof of employment?

Emily Hemphill: Sponsorship, a certificate of sponsorship

Felicia Shelton: Yes, from, from that college or that university.

Emily Hemphill: Well, yes, technically, but it apparently, it costs a lot of money for, to, I guess, sponsor someone, at least on the American side.

Felicia Shelton: That, no, yeah, on the foreign side, so, yeah, the, the foreign university or company has to pay, I think for Sweden or France, I think it’s maybe 10, 000 to 15, 000 To, to sponsor you. That’s why they’re like, hey, you figure it out.

Emily Hemphill: Yeah, so I guess that’s why. And this was also the first time that they had, were putting on this camp with a paid staff. So I think they were also kind of figuring out their kinks. So they couldn’t give me the certificate of sponsorship, which is, at first I was like, I know I need to get this in order to get my work visa.

Thankfully, I, this is also my cousin, I wouldn’t have known this if it hadn’t been for her, but she had obviously gone through all the international stuff. She had worked abroad after college. And so she was like, okay, there’s this agency, BUNAC, they help you help students get visas.

They can get you a certificate of sponsorship. So I start going through BUNAC, all this paperwork, all this whatnot.

Felicia Shelton: I think I’ve heard of them. It’s B U N A C. Yeah.

Emily Hemphill: Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, so that was helpful So I was going through that process, and that took a while to get through, because you would like, submit one round of paperwork, and they would have to approve it, and then you’d move on to the next and the next. So that took about over a month, at least, to get through all that, maybe two months.

And I don’t know why I thought this, but for some reason I thought they were going to give me my work visa at first and that this, because all of the details that I was, and all the information I was sending them is everything that I needed for my work visa. Yeah. And it just, in it, just going through the process, it made it seem like, okay, this is getting me my work visa.

Mm hmm. So like two months later, so I applied in January. I think I heard back in February and I started applying for the certificate. And I think in April, late April, they send me this email like congrats. You got your certificate of sponsorship. Now start applying for your work visa, and I’m supposed to leave like the second week of June first week of June.

Felicia Shelton: Okay, you have your sponsorship in April.

Emily Hemphill: Mm hmm late late April. Oh it and that cost me like probably over a thousand dollars to get that sponsorship and so my parents are like, what are you doing? Why are you putting in so much money?

You’re broke. You’re a college student. Yeah, you have no job You’re paying to go work overseas. Like are you gonna break even I mean to their credit like yeah These are very reasonable questions. Yeah, of course, of course, and so I’m looking I’m like, oh my gosh You mean I still have to apply for my work visa because everyone’s saying that’s gonna take months.

Felicia Shelton: It usually does everyone

Emily Hemphill: It usually does. Yeah, and so I’m scrambling, I’m so stressed out, I’m trying to send all this stuff in. At some point, I had everything I need, and I had to go, so I’m living, I think I’m like back at my parents house, outside of Roanoke, and then I had to go get my biometrics. I had to get fingerprinted but the only place to do that was up in Arlington, so like four hours away.

So then I’m driving to Arlington to do this, this is like three, literally three weeks before I’m supposed to leave.

Felicia Shelton: Wow. Cuttin’ it.

Emily Hemphill: Yeah. And so I get that back and I’m like, okay, now, like now what do I have to do? And this is, I don’t know. And once again, there’s no one I can just go to and they’re like, here’s your checklist, and my parents are trying to help, but like, the website from the British embassy that you’re supposed to, very confusing, does not make any sense.

And then I finally get to this point where everyone’s telling, all the sources, and like, I’m trying to, my parents were all trying to reach out to people who might have had a UK visa at some point.

Felicia Shelton: Hey, it takes a village, everybody.

Emily Hemphill: And they’re like, okay, you need to mail everything, including your passport to New York.

Felicia Shelton: That, to me, is the scariest thing. When I am separated from my passport, I don’t, I feel ill. I really do. It was nauseating. Yeah, yeah. It’s because now you’re, it’s, it’s like your life is on the line. And who knows whether you’re going to get it or not.

Emily Hemphill: And so I think I mailed it two weeks or less before they had to leave. Because I was, my, I was like, when we were finding out that I had to mail it. And I was like, this is ridiculous. Like, what is, I have never been, I was not sleeping. I was like, this is so stressful. And I was like, okay. And I. Like wrote this little note in my packet. I was like, this is the day I leave, please, if there’s any way you can get this back to me on time, like I beg of you.

Felicia Shelton: And smart thinking that you put that note in there. I mean, just yeah, do everything that you can to let them know that this is super, super urgent. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. You know, it depends. It’s really the luck of the draw of who gets that if they’re in a good mood that day or not. It really is like that people. Smart, smart thinking.

Emily Hemphill: Yeah, so, like I want to say two to three days before I leave, I get it back.

Felicia Shelton: I’m touching my forehead, everyone, because I would be just beside myself.

Emily Hemphill: Yeah, I was. It was, I don’t know how I got it back, but it was meant to be. It was meant to be, apparently, because, yeah, two to three days before I, like, get this thing in the mail, and I’m just in tears.

Felicia Shelton: You’re in tears, and two to three days before you’re You know, so you hadn’t booked a ticket yet. No, ticket was booked.

Emily Hemphill: A ticket was. Investments were made. Yeah. I’d invested a thousand dollars in getting my certificate of sponsorship. I had applied, like this was my plan for the summer for the next three months. And I was like, am I going to even be able to go? And yeah, it worked out.

Felicia Shelton: And it worked out two to three days before you’re due to get on a plane to start a new job in a new country. It was meant to be, Emily

Emily Hemphill: It was, it really was somehow. I love that.

Felicia Shelton: I love. These stories and, you know, you’re so young and this is working out and it’s, it has worked out.

So you have this amazing experience. You get on a plane, you’re going there to work. You studied in Rome, but now you’re going to work in Wales. So would you say? That, you know, now that you’re back here in the U. S., would you say that that helped you to become a reporter? All of this experience, like, what has that experience of studying and working abroad, now you have those two how has that helped you in your career starting out right now?

Emily Hemphill: I would say that studying abroad and working abroad definitely gave me the confidence to take a job in a city that I didn’t live in. And I don’t really know that many people in Charlottesville starting out. So I think just putting yourself in another unfamiliar space and not really knowing how it’s gonna go and not having people there to back you up necessarily, like obviously being in the same time zone and, you know, only a few hours away from friends and family is helpful now, but I would say once again, probably like I probably still would have taken the job. So it’s probably not the same as Wales, but I had a lot more confidence and I can figure it out.

You know, this will work out. It’ll be, there’s going to be hard moments and, you know, you’ll feel alone. It’ll be a little unfamiliar, but we’ve done this before and it’s worked out. So

Felicia Shelton: There you go. You’ve done this before and it’s worked out. Mm hmm. Italy. Wales. Oh my gosh. And now you’re here. You’re this, you know, I met Emily.

I’m not going to tell you where I met Emily, but I, you know, luckily I get to see Emily on a regular basis and and the rest of her team at the Daily Progress. And you started coming in a little bit more often. And so I said, wait a minute, you know, let me start asking questions.

As I, you know, say this in every podcast, if you want to know some things, you have to ask questions. And I’ve always been a person that will ask anyone anything because I’m curious. I’m curious about other people. And I think maybe your experience well, this is what I want to say. Now that you’re yet in another unfamiliar city.

You know, albeit we are back in the U. S. and like you said, you’re a couple of hours away from your parents. Are you thinking of having an international career? Do you want another international experience now that you’ve been there and done that? You’ve worked abroad, studied abroad.

Do you have any future plans to do this again?

Emily Hemphill: Yes, hands down. Yes, I think right now just, you know, young, figuring it out, getting it together. But I would say I definitely see living abroad as like a major part of my next. 10 years next chapter, whatever, I could definitely see spending some more time probably in a more structured environment than like, I probably want to go back to school overseas.

But like, maybe if I could, I would definitely be open to finding a job abroad.

Felicia Shelton: Maybe as a roving reporter

Emily Hemphill:  Or something that’s not, you know, asking me to pay all this money to get a work visa and whatnot. Because there’s now I know that there’s a lot more options for that.

Felicia Shelton: Yes, there are. You know, you could maybe, I don’t know, maybe teach creative writing in another university.

You, you, you never know, you never know. Maybe you could start in addition to whatever, maybe you’re doing a master’s or something. You know, studying for a master’s abroad is much, much cheaper than doing that here in the U. S. With the next guest, we’re going to talk about that as well.

He’s a professor in German. He teaches German. And so we’re going to talk about that as well. But I just love this for you. And you know, I was saying earlier when we, when you first came to the studio and you know, you’re 21, everyone, she’s just 21. When I was 21, and back in my day when I was 21.

I wasn’t even a university student. I was 21. I had moved to Sweden, didn’t know anything about Swedish culture, Swedish language. I was an immigrant and had to figure things out on my own, but I had the help of, you know, some very, really, really, really nice people. But you did not. You were just there by yourself.

You didn’t know anyone and you figured it out. And you, you, I think maybe created a more confident Emily. I think so. Probably. Yeah. Oh my gosh. So what would be your advice to anyone who’s thinking about, you know, someone your age or younger thinking about taking the leap and to go to another country to study?

What would be like maybe two or three pieces of advice that you would give them?

Emily Hemphill: Just do it.

I think that’s the, probably one of the biggest things is everyone’s Like just a little, because it’s not typical for American college students, I would say on average to go study abroad. And you think you’re gonna miss out on all this stuff and back at college.

I don’t know. It’s just a scary jump to take. So I think the first thing is just doing it. You just have to go do it.

Felicia Shelton: And then once you do it and you get there, what’s another piece of advice? So you get to this foreign place, you don’t know anyone. What’s, what’s a really great thing that a person should do like the first thing or maybe they should do or realize when they get to that place.

Emily Hemphill: Just do your best to be okay with being alone. I think you’ve learn so much about yourself when you are by yourself in these unfamiliar places. I would say just do as much always say, yes, do as much as you can. I think I saw a lot of people in my study abroad program in Rome who would come with a group of friends, and it was like, we’ll go to class, and then, you know, maybe we’ll do a few things, but it was like, we’re kind of just here to go to as many bars and clubs as possible.

Felicia Shelton: Mm hmm. Yes. Yes. And, and that’s, and I, you know, I, I saw that. Oh, yeah. I saw that, you know. And in the beginning, it’s great because you’re you’re there and you’re friends and, but study abroad is study and you’re abroad. So yes, you will have fun. You can go to those bars or whatever, but you’re not there just to hang out. Yeah, this is work.

Emily Hemphill: Yeah. Yeah, and so I think that was something was like a big group of the people who I was going to classes with and seeing at the school like that’s kind of what was going on And so that’s obviously that’s fun. You’re meeting other people Yeah, whatnot, but I think being able to remove myself from that And being like, no, on the weekends, I’m every single weekend that I only had five weekends there, I think.

And I think every single weekend I was traveling somewhere else. I was able to go to Sorrento and Venice and Florence and other places, Milan. And most of that I did by myself. There was a couple of times where another girl or a group of us would be like, Oh yeah, like I’ll take the train up.

But, I’m very happy that that was how my experience went and being able to be like, you know, wow, this, this is what I want to take away from this. Exactly.

Felicia Shelton: It’s your experience. It’s your study abroad experience. You might go over there as a group of people and then you’re at the university, but that’s a very, very good point.

Number, number two, be okay with being alone and be okay with doing things on your own, but also to remember that this is your experience. That is a very. Mature way of thinking about it because at the end of the day, you know, you will take your classes and things like that But outside of your classes, what do you want to take away from this experience?

That’s a really great point. Mm hmm and your third.

 I would just say embrace And take away notes from the cultures and the lifestyles that you’re coming into contact with. Mm hmm. And be as open to that as possible, even as. foreign as it may seem, because I think our Western and American lifestyle and culture is so different from anything you’re going to come into contact with when you go abroad.

Emily Hemphill: And so I think it’s very easy to be like, Oh, that’s just weird. Why would they do it like that? Let me just.

Felicia Shelton: Yeah, it’s not weird. It’s just the way that they do things. It’s just different. It’s just different. That’s all.

Emily Hemphill: Yeah. And so, and I would say that this kind of reminds me of a When I had, when I finished my time and my job in Wales, my parents came over and we spent like a week and 10 days going around and they wanted to go around Ireland.

So we went and we did a big road trip through Ireland. Oh, that’s wonderful. And our last night we were having dinner and they were just talking. They’re like, all right, you’re about to go back. What’s, what’s the plan? And I was just like, well, you know. I just don’t understand why I have to go back and start working a nine to five and you know, I’m just going to get sucked into this, this job and grinding I’m 21.

I don’t want to start that right now. I’m thinking maybe I’ll work a little. I want to travel more. And my parents are very open to traveling. They love to travel. But they’re like, come on, like, we’re going to have to get a job, you know, you got to do these things. Because you got to pay for all of this travel.

Right, yeah, exactly. You do, you do. And, but I think that being in Italy, and especially with a lot of the people that I met over the summer, who I became really close friends with. They’re not looking for, the big corporate job that they’re going to spend like the next 20 to 30 years in so that then they can buy a big house.

They’re doing things, they’re finding jobs and studies that interest them. And then they’re also like, they’re just enjoying life a little bit more than what we might find ourselves doing over here And so I really I think that was the biggest takeaway and I which it’s a very different mindset and lifestyle Than we have here.

So I think going overseas and being open to that has It definitely had an impact on how I see my future and my career.

Felicia Shelton: And that is the beauty of study abroad. I think that’s the whole point of study abroad. And I am so happy that you had that experience. And when you were just saying, you know, I don’t want to get, you know, I’m young, I’m 21.

I was like, yes, I was pumping my arms, everyone, because the whole point is to enjoy your life. Yes, you have to get a job. You have to have a roof over your head, you have to, you know, eat and things like this. But yeah, yeah, yeah. To get sucked into the nine to five, the grind, because that’s our culture.

That’s American culture. You work, work, work, work, work. And then you take yourself out of that at such a young age, you know, 20, 21. And you see that people are enjoying their lives. They don’t necessarily work in corporate or things like this, but they’re taking courses that they like and they are working jobs that they like.

But they also have. The opportunity to live how they want to live, not to say anything bad about America, but it is a different pace of life. And it’s a different, as you said, mindset. And I’m just glad that you had that experience because everyone I can talk about study abroad until the cows come home.

I am the, you know, study abroad’s biggest cheerleader in my, in my mind, but to sit across from someone who. Just, it was so recent and so fresh for you. That’s why I had to get you on the podcast to share your experience with everyone here and thank you so, so much. I am so happy for you.

We will definitely keep in touch. Maybe I’ll have you back again and and maybe the next time we meet you’ll be, you know, you’ll tell me, Hey Felicia, I just. I just accepted this position in this country and I’m on my way. That’s why she’s, she’s crossing their fingers, everybody. And we are crossing our fingers for you.

And I just want to say thank you, Emily Hemphill.

Emily Hemphill: Thank you so much. This has been fun. Thank you.

Felicia Shelton: Thank you. All right, everyone. Thank you again for tuning in for another episode. Study Abroad is my jam, always will be my jam. If you want to know more about study abroad or you want to hear more about Emily’s experience, I’m going to, you know, we’re going to connect you with her.

She’ll leave her information if you have more questions for her. And thank you so much. The world is a beautiful place. See it for yourself. Ciao.