The first month is the most fun I ever had in my life.
The second is when I began to hate the country I’m in.
The third is when I realized I left my support system behind.
And the fourth is when everything I was preached during pre-departure got put to the test.
And the fifth I wished more than anything I could stay.
Study abroad is incredible, and it’s an experience I recommend everyone try during their college career if they can afford it, both financially and in terms of class credits. However, long term programs, such as full semester or full year, are truly only for a select few.
Oftentimes from the pretty instagram posts and curated answers, there’s never any real openness about the stress, the mental strain, and the fear. Truth be told, I don’t think most people would believe me or take me seriously if I tried to talk about being miserable during a study abroad.
What could possibly make me miserable during a study abroad? What makes anyone miserable during the regular semesters?
School work takes it’s toll like it normally does, having to balance things like taxes, tuition, loans, registering for next semester, finances, still affect you, just now you’re trying to handle it all while forcing yourself to adapt to another culture and perform “fun” for all the people back home. And this time you don’t have any of your friends and family with you like you normally would. .
A long term study abroad is just school in another place. It still has all the same struggles and suffering as college normally comes with, but with the added layer of culture shock and a constant pressure to be “having fun all the time” because you’re “basically on an extended vacation.”
My professor recently compared the experience of an extended study abroad with a pilgrimage, and I have to agree with that assessment. It’s a long and arduous, but worth the struggle because of how you grow and change as a person. Just because the pilgrim grew stronger and reminisces on their experience fondly doesn’t negate the struggle and pain they endured.
I am happy I had this experience, but it really was a journey in every sense.
