1. Pre-study abroad anxiety is intense.
Saying goodbye the normalcy of life at home is hard. No matter if you are spending a month, a semester, or even an entire year abroad, it is hard to imagine living without your family and friends by your side. You have no idea what’s in store for you, but you trust those who tell you that studying abroad is life changing.
2. Culture shock has many forms.
After you touch down overseas, the first week is a jet lagged blur of meeting new people, getting lost, trying to communicate with locals (often in a different language), and adapting to your new lifestyle. Strange experiences often ensue, but you will look back on them later and laugh.
3. Host families are wonderful.
Host families can make life great. They know the ins and outs of the city, feed you well, and, if you are lucky enough, may even do your laundry. Even if they drive you crazy, it is reassuring to have them there.
4. You become hyper-aware of your communication.
What’sApp, Viber, and even good old Facebook chat become your go-to methods of communication with your new friends, as well as everyone back home. If you don’t have the luxury of an international phone plan, you are forced to take people at their word for pre-set times and meeting places. You recognize the liberation that comes with not being able to check your phone constantly, although it can seem inconvenient at times.
5. Free WiFi is your best friend.
You frequent cafes that have free WiFi so that you can make good use of the aforementioned communication apps. Shop owners might even begin to recognize you. After a while, you realize that you are becoming a regular.
6. Planning weekend trips becomes second nature.
When you have free time, you travel as much as you can. Staying in hostels, adapting to public transportation, and trying inexpensive local food enriches your weekends. You live adventurously. In each place you go, you leave a piece of yourself and take something with you.
7. Coming back to your base city feels like coming home.
Every time you come back from an excursion, your city will feel more like your city. It becomes home, whether or not you intend it to. It may even become a place you love as much as the town you grew up in.
8. Thinking about leaving is scary.
About a month from the day that you fly home, you begin to question everything. You realize how much your experiences have exceeded your initial expectations. Leaving starts to become a bittersweet reality.
9. You form lifelong friends.
The people you have shared your experience with become some of your closest, dearest friends. Living together in a new place full of unexpected circumstances forces you to rely on one another. You expand your definition of family to include members from all over the world.
10. You crave the next adventure.
You will come out of studying abroad with a very real sense of wanderlust and a newfound appreciation for the original place you called home.
