While studying abroad, it may be tough for American sports fans to keep up with their teams. In an event as big as the World Series, keeping up with sports becomes a must for die-hard baseball fans – especially if your team is playing. With a few helpful tips, you can make sure you never miss a beat.

1. Friends. The first obstacle to making sure you don’t miss the World Series is friends. While studying abroad you will meet many new friends from all over the U.S. as well as the world. Your U.S. friends will likely not be from the same region you’re from back in the States or, if they are, they may not be big sports fans. They will try and get you to go out during the games. You must be strong and tell them that you won’t be able to go out for four to seven nights when the World Series is going on (or if you do go out, it will be with other baseball fans to watch the games).

2. Venue. You will need to find a place to watch the games. A lot of major cities around the world have sports bars geared towards Americans. Find them. They do exist. Yes, usually the games will start at some horrible hour like one-thirty in the morning as a result of the time difference but usually these bars will stay open until the end of the game, regardless.

3. Time. Watching the game at some horrible hour brings us to our third point. Time. This means you will have to condition yourself to be up very late and plan your schedule accordingly. There’s a good chance you will have an early morning class at least a few times during the World Series. If you’re extremely brave you can try functioning at class on the four hours of sleep that you’ll get between the end of the game and the time you have to wake up for class. Too much of this could result in sickness, however, and therefore it is not recommended. The best way to combat the time issue is to sleep for about four hours before first pitch. Wake up and watch the game. Then go back to sleep for a few more hours until class. This will ensure that you get a good night’s sleep (seven to eight hours).

4. Loved ones who got tickets. Avoid talking to them. It’ll just make you depressed.

5. Celebration. This may be the area most open to interpretation. It can be tough not being around your fellow hometown fans and city, but chances are you can find people willing to celebrate with you. There are always people looking for something to celebrate. In any case, have fun with it. The Chicago White Sox just won the World Series!

Nick Fawell is a senior in Communications. He is studying abroad in London this semester. His column appears every third Wednesday. He can be reached at [email protected].