“Going abroad will be one of the best experiences of your life”; that’s what everyone says. After a month abroad, I have to say this statement is true. However, it’s not all exciting weekend trips and making new best friends from around the world (although that may be part of it). Especially during the first month, what I think of as the transition month, there may be a few experiences and situations that you were not expecting that can really shake your confidence, if you let them.
There are many experiences I was not expecting to have or tried to avoid when coming abroad that really shook my optimism when I first arrived. Today, I’ll discuss 2 of them, in the hopes that sharing my experience can help someone else planning to go abroad feel more confident and ready to take on these inconvenient or unwanted aspects of studying abroad.
1.Homesickness
This is something everyone will probably experience when studying abroad. This can take many forms from feeling out of place in your new surroundings to missing friends and family to feeling like you will never adjust. Some people may feel homesickness very strongly for a short period and some may feel it in spurts throughout their study abroad experience. That is how my experience has gone so far. I have not felt constant homesickness, however, sometimes it creeps up and it can be a bit immobilizing.
If you get to a point where it seems like you can’t shake the feeling of homesickness, try increasing contact with my friends and family at home. This contact should not be to the point where you’re constantly talking to them and are missing out on opportunities where you are, but just enough to reduce the feeling of loneliness. In addition, I suggest trying to stay busy and constantly be exploring.
2.Money Stress
For a lot of people the ability to study abroad has been a result of saving for months, maybe years for the experience and possibly having some financial support from family and/or financial aid. While stress over money may not be something everyone experiences, it is something many people will experience. It is something I definitely did not expect to worry about as much as I do. For me, this money stress is not the fear of running out of money (I suggest not frivolously spending your money in the first few weeks and creating a budget), it’s more a worry about changes in where your money is being spent and how quickly it’s being spent.
First, unless you are a travel pro or an excellent packer, you will need to buy some supplies when you first arrive which may cost more than expected. In addition, you will also have to think about new expenses you may not face at home, such as paying for public transportation if you usually drive. Also, mundane tasks such as grocery shopping may be very different wherever you study and that can take some adjusting. For example, I usually grocery shop once a week at home and just buy everything I need in one go, however, here in France, if you live in the city, you have to lug your groceries home meaning you may not buy as much in one trip and may need to make multiple trips a week. As a result it may seem like you’re spending more money on groceries, even though the total amount of money on each trip may be smaller.
Overall, changes in how frequently and quickly you’re spending money can cause stress and it’s important, especially in the first few weeks, to monitor your spending and make sure you’re adjusting your spending to where you are.
These are just two matters I’ve dealt with so far that have affected my study abroad experience. If you let them, these unexpected situations with their resulting feelings and stress can wreck your study abroad experience. However, if you work through them, they become just blips in an otherwise excellent experience! I hope my advice in these two areas can help encourage people who are thinking about studying abroad to not let potential homesickness or money stress hold them back. Study abroad is an amazing experience that you should take advantage of if you can. Not every moment will be the best moment of your life, but as many people have said, the experience is definitely what you make of it.