Last semester I took a chance. I left the comfort zone of my hometown. I left the comfort zone of the Colgate bubble. I left the comfort zone of the east coast. I left the comfort zone of the US. I studied abroad in Manchester, England, and while being in an English speaking country, it was still weird. Now, don't get me wrong. Studying abroad was an incredible experience that allowed me to grow as an individual as well as an informed citizen of the world and its cultures. But it was still weird. Honestly, I'm not sure which is weirder, being abroad or returning home. Throughout my experience, I documented my weird encounters and experiences via Twitter, in a way I thought was comical, yet still effective in conveying the point. While it is an absolutely amazing experience, studying abroad is pretty weird.
1. Studying abroad is weird because life at home and life at school go on, but they both go on without you.
2. Because you legitimately text your mom "FYI I'm going to Copenhagen this weekend" and there are no questions asked.
3. Because you are done with classes before most of your friends are even awake.
4. Because you have to tell people you're from New York, even though you've never been to New York City in your life.
5. Because you're not actively trying to avoid 20% of the student population.
6. Because you need no forms of ID to order a beer but need two forms of ID to pick up your concert tickets.
7. Because you have to FaceTime your parents for three or more hours at a time just to watch the Patriots or Red Sox.
8. Because you're not allowed to move your group projects to accommodate the Patriots schedule.
9. Because you're spending the vast majority of your life savings in the span of four months, but strangely okay with it.
10. Because you can deflect any question about the presidential election by asking about Brexit.
11. Because you never know which side of the sidewalk you should be walking on.
12. Because you can have a midterm in a bar and there are no legal issues whatsoever.
13. Because you can go on a spontaneous midweek trip to Paris and pay under $250 for the whole thing.
14. Because you have class on Thanksgiving.
15. Because no one understands the concept of unassigned assigned seats.
16. Because you can have a 24-year old professor who only wears Abercrombie and Fitch.
17. Because you can be of legal drinking age for four months and then come back and not be legal for another eight.
18. Because your second semester will start before your first one ended.
19. Because you have no idea how to do normal school work without traveling every weekend.
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