During study abroad your life changes in more ways than just living in another country. I think there are a ton of different ways I didn't think about like budgeting your money for example. When abroad, budgeting for food and hygiene products stays constant but instead of saving money for that sweater you saw online or prepping for a trip this summer everything is so in the moment, you budget for trips, clothes that you forgot at home, and authentic food from the places you travel. It's funny how your life revolves around getting to new places, meeting new people, getting to know a new culture, and doing research on what is best to do or see. Juggling planning with school and keeping in contact with everyone at home is a struggle.
It's like when you first go off to college and you try to maintain your high school friendships and make new ones where you are. I think study abroad is especially special because you know you are returning in four short months to your old life. Study abroad is also a way you start to discover yourself even more so than just going to college. Personally, I didn't know anyone when I started at GW so would have thought study abroad is exactly the same in terms of discovering who you are and what defines you but I think this is a whole different level. At school you have this community of people you go to class with and belong to groups with, and study abroad you don't have that. You're completely on your own to find who ever and whatever you want. Well, that's a stretch, you have a community of students. You have 30 students in you group that decided to jump into this once in a life time experience with you to help find your way but it's a still a jump and your community decreases significantly.
It's scary and over whelming but also so exhilarating. I think this is not only an educational experience of yourself but a learning experience for people from completely different backgrounds and cultures. This change in community I think makes you a more established person. You have to have an answer when they ask you your story and values. By communicating with people of difference background they ask you the hard questions, the ones you have never considered, and the ones you prefer not to think about. I feel as if back home you are you and no one questions it, but here abroad people want to know what makes you you.
Here in the middle of the semester, I have found myself comparing my life here to my life in DC more and more. I think this has to do with settling in and actually knowing what it is like to live in a different place for a long period of time. Which, on another note, still surprises me when I saw I have been here for 2 weeks. Time flies abroad. In DC, I had those weeks that dragged by but I have yet to experience this drag abroad which is another difference of the two.
Abroad is a place of growth where you can further define yourself as a person with those conversations you have never had, the experiences you could only dream of, and the people you can’t imagine. This magical mixture of once in a life time opportunities makes your stomach jump. Again, its scary because it is so unpredictable and whimsical but this creates an exhilarating experience I would recommend to anyone.