Preparing for and Coping with Culture Shock

Some of our students report not feeling culture shock at all. Some are surprised by how much culture shock they experience. Often, those most affected are those who did not expect it. So how can you prepare to live in a new culture and get the most out of the experience? How do you prepare […]

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International Airfare For Study Abroad

SRAS is not in the business of selling plane tickets, with the exception of group educational tours and domestic flights not available for purchase outside of our program host countries. We do, however, continuously monitor flight pricing and travel logistics routings for our study destinations and we travel a lot ourselves. As such, we are […]

Study Abroad Budgets: A Student Guide

Eurasia today is quite affordable. Students are often surprised how far their dollars will go even in major cities like Warsaw – and very surprised at how far they go in places like Bishkek. However, students can also be surprised at how easy it is to run into troubles – like blocked bank cards or […]

Guide to Travel to Tashkent

My Central Asian Studies Program with SRAS in Bishkek included a fantastic 9-day trip to the major Silk Road cities of Uzbekistan—Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand—which was book-ended by visits to Tashkent. At the end of my program, I made the trip to the capital of Uzbekistan again, this time independently. I stayed there for three […]

Travel and Language Learning in Uzbekistan

After taking my second semester of Russian in the US, my professor shared with me an opportunity to travel to Uzbekistan with SRAS with a study abroad scholarship I had acquired through my university. Traveling to Central Asia for the first time was a life changing opportunity for me and greatly helped me develop my […]

Buying a SIM Card Abroad: Free Russian Lesson

This free Russian MiniLesson will help you learn the vocabulary need to get a SIM card in Russia. If you are on a regular SRAS study abroad program, SRAS will help you to obtain a local SIM card. In many locations, SRAS can also supply you with a “burner” phone for use while on the […]

Packing List for Study Abroad

A semester or year stay abroad requires considerable planning. You will need to consider the season and location as well as what you need to bring and what you should find abroad. If you will be spending winter months in most SRAS locations, luggage can quite easily become unwieldy, which can mean airline charges for […]