Treasured Possessions

Diana Jue, staff columnist for MIT's  The Tech, shares tips and tools for studying abroad:

I leave you with what I’ve learned studying abroad. May it help you think about your own experiences.

1. Write and keep everything in a personal journal — My most treasured possessions from the trip are two extra large Moleskine cashier’s notebooks filled with near-daily entries that capture my memories, thoughts, feelings, conversations, sights, diet, and experiences. For me, to write is to think, to process, and to untangle. Not writing is actively avoiding the convoluted mess that is in my head. Writing in a journal isn’t as much about the end product as it is about the process.

More at her column, "It’s a Big, Big World"