When studying abroad you meet new people, discover new strengths and see the world through new eyes. In short, studying abroad changes you. No matter what you tell yourself in you head, when you come back to class at your home University you will be different. These differences have upsides and downsides, but mostly up! The differences range from, liking new food to being incompatible with old friends. Even with these changes it is always good to be home.
On returning, the first noticeable differences are your friends, co-workers and roommates. Good friends pick up right where you left off, but co-workers and acquaintances seem distant. It is an odd feeling and you end up re-meeting people you have known for a year or more. After being gone for three months, six months or a whole year, you and everyone you know has had time to change. If nothing was different after being gone for that long then you were doing it wrong. Growth is a part of life and as you and your friends grow, change is unavoidable.
Anther difference is the size of campus because, after traveling to a different country, a college campus is tiny in comparison. When travelling you see the world, and how other people live, which helps put your life into perspective. Then coming home everything seems smaller, and the little annoying things don’t seem as important. This can be fine for you, but it may hurt your friends and family, which can cause tension at first. The person returning has another place, other people and a whole experience dancing around in side their head.
When coming home from living abroad you feel that you are leaving a life behind you and an experience that can never be recreated. This is both sad, but also a little exciting, and it can’t be shared with anyone else. Returning is difficult and joyous at the same time because you can see the people you love, but you also have to rediscover what it is that you want and how to interact with your friends while keeping your new experience in mind. All in all, coming is one of the best feelings in the world because no matter where you go in life, or who you meet nowhere is better than your home, family and friends.
