It seems cliche and it definitely gets annoying, but when people say that “studying abroad changes you”, they’re not trying to sound like a broken record; they’re trying to find a way to possibly put into words just how much they saw and experienced. And believe me, there is SO MUCH, and seeing and experiencing all of that really does change a person. It changes your view of the world, it changes you view of yourself, and it changes your life. It’s something that I will always encourage everyone to try, because that kind of personal growth is so important for your future success.
Like I’ve said in my post about living in New York City, getting to see, hear, taste, touch, and observe things outside of your comfort zone helps you grow as a person. You learn to be independent and confident in yourself, because sometimes you’re all you have.
For example, Italians will not hesitate to stare at you and judge you for everything from what you’re wearing to how you’re speaking, and it takes some learning to finally accept it and stop caring.
One day it was 70 degrees outside so naturally I wore a short sleeve t-shirt and jeans, and got stared down on the bus for not being wrapped up in a winter jacket like everyone else. Some of the Italians at restaurants and coffee shops would roll their eyes about how poorly I spoke Italian while ordering.
In the beginning, it was kind of jarring and I always felt self-conscious, but I eventually learned that I could be comfortable with myself and accept that I’m an outsider, and understand their point of view and how ridiculous I must look sometimes. A lot of the time, Italians were very welcoming and kind, especially with me trying to learn the language, but I couldn’t rely on them to build up my confidence: I had to do that myself.
Other than language barriers, there are many obstacles to overcome while living and traveling abroad. You have to figure out public transportation, which can be super difficult if it’s in a country that doesn’t speak English. Many students abroad don’t even have cell phone data, so you have to learn how to not always rely on your smartphone to save you. Sometimes transportation can be a mess, sometimes you make mistakes and miss flights or trains or buses. Things don’t always go according to plan, and you can’t always just use your phone to save you, and you can’t expect anyone else to save you either.
You learn how to solve problems and think on your feet, and let yourself roll with the punches. When things go wrong you can’t just break down and cry. You have to fix it, because no one else is gonna fix it for you.
I can’t tell you how many times my friends and I had issues with transportation, whether it was out of our control or within it. We all managed to survive somehow so it couldn’t have been that bad, right? While I was in Edinburgh for a day, trying to travel to Prague and then to Malta, I ended up missing my flight to Prague because of poor communication from the airline/airport, and my failure to check details.
Even after sprinting through the airport with all of my bags, trying desperately to make my flight, I was ultimately stranded in Edinburgh for another day. And I cried. I was so stressed and tired and had literally just run through the entire airport at full speed, so I sat down and let myself cry for 5 minutes, and then I picked myself up and marched to the customer help desk and scheduled myself on the next flight to Belgium in the morning (where I had a connecting flight to Malta).
Of course I had cried, and of course I ended up calling my dad on airport wifi and asking for help booking a hotel while I figured out a new flight, but in the end, I was alone and had to figure it out. I couldn’t sit there and cry and feel sorry for myself; I had to get up and get a new flight and find a place to stay for the night. I survived, didn’t I?
I feel like a lot of people today that are my age don’t like to actually do stuff for themselves and seem to rely on other means. I am NOT generalizing millennials here, trust me, but from just observing people in my own life and seeing how helpless and frankly spoiled they are, it’s easy to see that learning to be independent is something really important. Being thrown into situations out of your control is an incredible learning experience for problem solving, and one that is really prominent once you’re alone in a foreign country.
If you’ve been considering going abroad, I would say to absolutely go for it. Don’t be scared about “going alone”, because you most likely won’t ever be alone. I went to Rome, knowing a few people in my program from Miami, and I chose to live with other students I had never met before with no idea what to expect. I ended up being so lucky to have met so many new people from different places and backgrounds, and they’re friends I hope to have for life. Everyone is in the same boat, wanting to make friends and travel, and you’ll find people similar to you that you can flock to. It’s a lot easier to make friends than you think, and meeting all of these new people and hearing their stories also helps you grow as a person and learn about tolerance and acceptance.
I’m very clearly passionate about my experiences, and all I want is for people to see what I’ve seen, and felt what I’ve felt. The friends and memories I have made will stay with me forever, and that’s something I’m so grateful for. I’ve caught the Travel Bug, and I’m itching for my next chance to explore a foreign city and taste all of the food. If I could do it all again, I don’t think I would change a thing, but I would love to go back to that perfect time in my life when I was luckier than I was ever able to appreciate.
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