It’s common knowledge that studying abroad is basically a 6-month long vacation where you attend laughable P/F classes twice a week, go out until the sun rises, travel to bucket list cities every weekend, and get your iPhone stolen. Mom and Dads also love it because their little snowflake is guaranteed to become more mature, “find him or herself,” and gain a new, worldwide perspective. That’ll only cost $25,000, please. 

But all jokes aside, studying abroad is the best thing that’ll happen to anyone lucky enough to do it. Behind those middle-aged men buying you vodka sodas at the club, there is substance. Not in their unibrow, but in something else.

The thing about studying abroad is that you’re essentially transferring. You arrive reputation free. You make a whole new set of friends, many of whom will not be Americans. You’ll redefine what a fun time is together. The way you want your life to look in 10 years time will change. Most of all, (gasp it’s true!) you will change. 

And then, you come home.

Landing at home after you lived your life overseas for 6 months is honestly traumatic. I’m not even being sarcastic. It’s a huge part of studying abroad that no one talks about. Saying goodbye to the people you’ve become ridiculously close to and knowing that you’ll forever be thousands of miles and dollars apart from them is a harsh but sure reality at the end of the semester.

In study abroad orientations they talk about this thing called "reverse culture shock," but the way they define it is in the sense of readjusting to American culture: the gluttony, the capitalism, the cheap beer. In reality, it’s a much bigger white girl problem than that. It’s the struggle of readjusting to your own reality. It’s about trying to find a balance between the pre-abroad you and the post-abroad you. It’s very possible that this new you no longer has a deep appreciation for Ladies Night @ The Goose.

My little, Dana Koerner, Instagramed a fitting quote when she got back from studying abroad. It reads: 

“You will never be completely at home again because part of your heart will be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of knowing and loving people in more than one place.” - Unknown

 She got a lot of likes.