Spring quarter is one of the most exciting times to be at Kalamazoo College. The grass is green again, the trees are flowering and DOGL looms in the near future. It's also the quarter that a large part of the junior class returns from their six-month study abroad programs. For first years, that means meeting a whole bunch of new people. For returning juniors, it means sharing stories about your experiences with friends you haven't seen in a long time. And for sophomores, juniors who stayed at K, and seniors, it means asking your returned friends questions, even if you don't really care about the answers.

As a junior who just got back from studying abroad, I've fielded the question "how was it?" a ton of times. It's a tough one to answer because it's impossible to sum up six months worth of experiences in a single sentence. My canned response is "It was fun and I learned a lot," which doesn't really mean much of anything. Some people who have asked me "how was it?" were probably just being polite, but I'm certain some really did want to know how it was. So, what if you're genuinely interested in hearing about how your friend's time abroad was, but you don't know how to ask about it? I've come up with some questions you can ask your returned friends to learn more about their time abroad.

What thing you encountered abroad made you feel the smallest in relation to human achievement?

Me and some friends at Monte Alban, the site of one of the earliest known urban civilizations in the Americas. Feeling pretty small about it.

What are the top five tastiest things you ate?

I could really go for some chilaquiles right about now.

What thing did you miss from home that you did not expect to miss?

While I was abroad, I thought about Panera almost every day. I didn't realize bread bowls meant so much to me.

Did you meet any nice dogs?

I met this very nice lady on Halloween, even though it's not traditionally celebrated in Oaxaca.

How did being abroad change the way you feel about your identity?

I learned a lot about my United States American-ness from living outside the States..

Did you watch any seasons of TV in one sitting?

Being abroad isn't 100 percent feeling small in relation to human achievement and meeting dogs. Sometimes you don't want to get out of bed, and that's okay too.

Got any better ideas? Post them in the comments!