As the world progresses, employers are starting to enjoy job candidates that have some intercultural experience in order to demonstrate that they have a more "well-rounded" perspective on the world along with being able to throw themselves into a position that is out of their comfort zone in every way possible--physically, mentally, socially, academically, etc.-- and was able to handle themselves with poise and professionalism. With this expectation burning with its absence on a résumé, many millennials are choosing to study abroad for about four to six months out of one year in their undergraduate career. The 2016-2017 academic year just happens to be the year that I would participate in one of these journeys and so, I boarded a flight last week and started living in Aberdeen, Scotland for the duration of the semester.

Being an American across the pond has been quite an interesting and self-reflective experience as I'm meeting 20 plus people per day and they're asking me questions about the States. When you go to a Uni (look at me keeping up with the lingo) with countless Europeans you realize that Americans are often seen as not being "travelers--" and this comes with good reason. My American friends and I have come to the explanation that our country is so large that traveling outside of the country is almost unnecessary because you can find various cultures within our own borders and it's much cheaper to fly nationally vs. internationally. These cultures aren't drastically different--I'm not sure "culture shock" would really be an appropriate description. Some places are just a little different. With that being said, actual culture shock feels a lot more drastic than I thought it would be when I boarded the plane to come here.

I mean I'm in Scotland. How different could it really be from the United States? When asked how I was doing with adjusting and I respond with, "just trying to make sense of the cultural differences and figure out where I fit in this new system," some have looked puzzled because they're thinking the same thing I had believed for a long time. How different could Scotland really be from the United States? To be honest, it's not entirely different. I know that had I gone to a country like Thailand, or even Spain, like some of my friends at my home institution, this article would probably be a list of all the differences and what I thought about them. However, it's the minor differences in this new country that are starting to add up in my daily life and throw me off--they're constant reminders that I'm out of my element and it's draining and stressful. As these minor differences add up, they start to appear more drastic the more you experience them.

For starters, when I first arrived here I needed to go to the grocery store and get some food for myself to get by in the first few days as I settled in. However, when we walked into the store I didn't recognize a single label. I've been here for five days now and I really can't tell you what 90% of the food or name brands are. I can't even buy a bag of crisps (eh look what I did there) with ease because I don't know what any of the brands are let alone if the flavors are going to be appealing.

Another somewhat minor difference is the fact that in the UK, they drive on the left side of the road. You'd think that this difference would just be kind of amusing--a source of playful banter amongst yourself and locals--but it poses a problem when you're suddenly struggling with how to safely cross a road. I know. Not that hard. But there have been several times that I have looked in the wrong direction to check for oncoming traffic and have almost stepped into the street with a car zooming by from the other direction. Without a crosswalk, my friends and I have sat staring each direction down the road and tried to reason with how to approach the issue at hand. My friend Emma said something along the lines of, "I can't seem to figure out what it is that makes it so difficult to figure out, but it really throws you off when you're trying to work through it," as we tried to cross the road the other day. It shouldn't be that difficult, but once you're staring at the street and can't understand why you're unable to figure it out, it might make more sense.

It's these types of small changes that become very draining as you're trying to figure out your academics, food and countless other things to survive in a new place. It comes to a point where it's tiring to feel powerless because you can't operate with the smallest of changes that you wouldn't even consider when you're home. All of a sudden your daily life is completely unfamiliar to you.

Don't worry, it gets better. I'm remembering which direction to look down the road more and more as I stay here longer. It's only a matter of time.