Living abroad is easily the best thing that I have ever chosen to do. However it is also the hardest thing that I have ever done. On a daily basis I go through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. I constantly go through culture shock which causes so much anxiety and self-doubt, which can be rough but we all go through it. Now, because of the struggles I have discovered the importance of self-care and how much it is truly needed especially living abroad navigating a new culture.

Let’s take a look at what self-care is. In the most basic terms it is an activity that one does in order to keep their physical, mental, and emotional health intact. This activity is anything that you like to do that can help you to forget about the things that are going on around you. Self-care can consist of a pedicure or manicure, watching a movie or TV show, going on a walk or run, going to the gym, doing yoga, or whatever it is that allows you to forget your worries and what you are going through. Everyone’s self-care regimen is going to be different for each person.

My specific self-care is getting a pedicure or manicure, reading a book, or watching a TV show. Usually Gilmore Girls, Jane the Virgin, or Grey’s Anatomy. It just depends on what I am going through in the moment of self-care. However, now that I am currently living abroad I have had to change the way that I self-care because I don’t have the means to self-care the way that I did back in the states. I don’t have the ability to get a pedicure or manicure often and I can’t always watch a TV show.

With that I have had adjust my self-care. I am still able to read very often so that has become number one. I can watch movies and some TV shows on my laptop when we have power. But we don’t always have power so I have had to figure out some other ways of good self-care here in the situation that I live in. I will usually take a book outside and read with headphones in, or take a walk around my beautiful village, or I will sit and watch the sunset because they are ridiculously gorgeous here. Of course when I have power I will watch TV shows or movies on my laptop.

Self-care has become very important to me in my time here. I want to emphasis how important it should be for everyone whether you are living in the states or somewhere abroad. I have talked to several people about how they self-care and I have heard them say that they often have a hard time with self-care because they feel selfish for taking the time to be alone and take time completely for themselves. However, I am here to say that it is not selfish at all to take time for yourself when you need it. Honestly, if you are not caring for yourself you cannot do your work, take care of others, or fully function well. I am here to tell you that you deserve to be selfish at times; you deserve to say I need time to put my head on right so I can be here fully functioning. I promise that people will understand, and if they don’t well help them to understand.

I have had to battle with not feeling selfish for taking time to self-care, however it wasn’t until moving abroad that I really began to battle hardcore with feeling uncontrollably selfish because I take weekends to self-care which means I am rarely around my community, however I need this time to assure that I can teach and be with my pupils the way that they deserve for me to be. It took me awhile to finally be okay with taking this time; it took talking to my counterpart and explaining what I do on weekends and why I do it. It also took talking to other PCVs about out they self-care and if I am being too selfish the way that I self-care and each of them assured me that it wasn’t selfish it was actually very brave of me to say I need that time to care for myself. So here I am advocating for each of you. Self-care is important and not at all selfish, so do yourself a favor and think about what activities you can do for self-care pick a day, or just a few hours in a day and care for yourself the best way you can. You deserve, so be brave and self-care.