Challenges of studying abroad

Hey you guys, as you have been following my blog, I have been writing about going abroad and therefore interviewed Luana Fabrete De Almeida and talked to her about her experience, which was really positive ‘til now. But of course there are not only upsides to going abroad, so in this post I’m gonna tackle some problems most of the students are suffering from while being abroad.

Language and Cultural differences

Even though you studied the language of your destination before, it can happen that there are communication problems due to shyness or any other reason, you get the idea. But it might just be a misunderstanding so don’t give up and hang in there, try to explain yourself as good as you can. New country doesn’t only mean a new language, but a new culture and within lies the cultural shock you experience by leaving your comfort zone. For instance, while you shake hands or even kiss each other on the cheek to greet in Europe, you wouldn’t even think about it in Asian countries like Japan where you greet each other with an obeisance while the degree depends on the formality of the situation.

Academic differences

Let’s be honest once you’re abroad it definetely will be more interesting to explore your new home than doing homework. But there is no way around there, as you are there to “study abroad“. So time management is crucial to get work done and being able to enjoy the time away from home.

Finance difficulities

Chances are that even though you calculated everything accurately, that the budget is still not enough and the reason is simple as living on your own is expensive and that in a whole new unfamiliar place makes it even more expensive. As you will try out new things while you are away from home, be it surfing or open-air cinema, which makes it even harder to stay within the calculated budget. Check your visa for working opportunities, as depending on the country, most of them are allowing for you to earn extra through part time jobs.

My experience

I have been away from my family lots of times in my life so I didn’t have the problem of homesickness when I first got to Australia for my semester abroad. But Camilla my Italian host sister did.

Did you know that homesickness has been described as a grief reaction, like having lost a loved one. Which in this case means the students are grieving for the loss of a familiar place.

She talked to her parents and her best friend day and night the first few days, as she has never been this far away from home before, until my host mum explained to her that the walls are way to thin for her to talk all night on the phone. I was so lucky to have her with me, even though I got twice the cultural shock everyone else had experienced, as I lived with a really vivacious Italian girl right next door in a country I have never been before. Where they speak sub-cultural slangs, have different food, seasons are reverse so the weather goes up to 40 degrees in “winter“ and 15 degrees actually feel cold to you.

The language aspect wasn‘t that much of a difficulty for us, as we both had English lessons back home. Camilla was shy at first but she had all the vocabulary and after a few weeks she got used to speak more English with us than expressing her feelings in Italian. Our friends in school were from all around the world – Brazil, France, Switzerland Japan and Germany, so I had the chance to improve my Japanese, English and Italian at the same time. It was exciting and we spent a lot of money on clothes, food and excursions.

So as I said I didn’t really feel homesick but after months and months of repeated realisation that I’m finally abroad and living my dream, it hit me all at once and I got homesick, because I was missing such a huge part of my friends life‘s at home. Of course we’re living in the 21^st century, by which I mean your family and friends are just one call away, but there is still a difference to have them physically in front of you or just on the screen. But even though I was homesick, I loved being there so much. So, after I called my friends, I made a list of all the places I still wanted to see and the things I wanted to do.

Get busy living!

All in all, all these problems are solvable!

By attending your classes, you will find friends and people to talk to. At the same time they can help you with your studies in case you didn’t understand anything. Staying within your budget will most certainly not be that easy, but while you‘re there look for a part time job, with which you can finance your leisure time activities. If the homesickness hits you, remind yourself how blessed you are to even be there and that sooner or later you will be back with your loved once anyway. So make yourself a list with all the things you want to do and see before you go back, so when you are, you are back without any regrets.