What I Didn’t Tell You About Studying Abroad…
Lately, I’ve gotten so many emails from people who have somehow found my study abroad posts from Pinterest or online searches. These emails are filled with so many questions from excited, hopeful college students prepared to embark (many of them for the first time) on what hopefully will become one of the biggest highlights of their college career. I love receiving these emails and I’m happy provide as little or as much information and resources as I possibly can for you.
All of these emails got me nostalgically looking back on my study abroad posts. Then, the three year mark of my trip hit and my Time Hop and Facebook were suddenly filled with overwhelming amounts of Spain posts. The thing is, every single one of these posts was aimed at sharing my wins, my highlights, and the greatest joys of my study abroad experience. I would love to offer this post as a preamble of sorts to those posts. Take those posts with a grain of salt after having read this slightly humorous, slightly serious post!
Sometimes you’ll get homesick and your host mom will throw things at you. Not to be melodramatic, but my first week in Spain was a little chaotic and I experienced the only time in my entire life when I’ve been so insanely homesick. Once we all arrived in Alicante and got our host family assignments, I was so thrilled to go meet my family. When I got to my new apartment, I quickly noticed that it took over 30 minutes from the city center to get to the apartment. My first host mom was an elderly woman and was SO excited I was there. She texted me every waking minute of the day (or so it felt) to know my whereabouts. She would make plans for me with her friends without my say in the matter. While none of these things were outright problems, they started piling up and making me feel very uneasy. It all culminated one night when our entire group was going out for fun plans and I couldn’t go because 1) the train stopped running at that time of night, 2) no cabs came to the neighborhood I was in, and 3) my host mom literally wouldn’t let me out the door past 9pm because it was “too dangerous” (the farthest thing from the truth).
After dramatically crying on the phone to my mom about how this was not the experience I had in mind, she encouraged me to talk through the issues with our program director. The next day, he found me just the right family to place me with that was located in the literal city center and was extremely independent, allowing me to experience much more freedom in my semester. While it ended up working out in the end, it didn’t come with its share of troubles – my original host mom felt betrayed that I was leaving her home and threw all of my belongings (including my suitcase) at me because she was so upset. To this day, I feel so bad for leaving her but am so glad I was able to change the situation as it dramatically changed my semester’s experience. I learned so much from this experience, as I normally lie low and don’t mention anything when things bother me, so it was a huge growing experience to voice my concerns and get change made because of them.
Sometimes you won’t make friends when it’s been the easiest thing for you to do your whole life. This was a huge one for me. I so desperately wanted to make tons of Spaniard friends at the University and in my daily life. However, much like when thinking of the international students at my own University in the States, it was so easy to stick with what I knew. Our group from the University of Missouri was inseparable, and while that was amazing, it sometimes change the dynamic of making friends. My classes at the University were filled with students on their Erasmus (the European version of studying abroad) so I met tons of students from England, Estonia, Ireland, etc. Sometimes, I needed the reminder that any amount of friends I was making was exciting and impressive, and not to be taken for granted.
As the semester went on, I began to think outside the box in order to meet Spanish friends who would be able to help me learn about their culture more. All the Starbucks baristas formed a language exchange with me where we would practice English and Spanish together, I volunteered at an elementary school teaching English, and I frequented the same restaurants and cafes so the workers/owners would recognize me. There were strategic ways that I began making friends who taught me about their life growing up in Spain, and what I had to realize was, these opportunities weren’t just going to fall in my lap.
Sometimes, you get super sick in another country and have to be admitted to the hospital and it’s not a pretty sight. While walking the Camino de Santiago, I began to get pretty sick. Each day, I was walking approximately a marathon distance, so not only was my body experiencing the normal things that go along with that (blisters, minimal dehydration, extreme exhaustion and pain) but I also started experiencing some other intense pain. Since we were largely walking through small farming communities, I couldn’t just stop at a Walgreen’s Quick Care and get checked out. I finally came across a hole-in-the-wall pharmacy and the pharmacist gave me medication for what she thought was a UTI with a “Go to the hospital the minute you get to Santiago” warning. So, I continued. Finally, I reached Santiago and our program director took me to the hospital where I was diagnosed with a kidney infection, got hooked up to some IVs, and was put on some intense medication. None of that experience was fun, however it is amazing to look back on my walking journey through Spain and know that I accomplished it even while so sick! Now, my goal is to accomplish another Camino that is longer and executed without being so sick! I’m looking to complete the Camino Portugues within the next few years, so stay tuned!
Sometimes it’s super messy and you cry for hours on a train because you have to go home. Yes, this is all too real. Leaving Alicante, I cried the entire duration of the train ride to Madrid. I continued crying on the way to the Madrid airport. And on the flight. Yikes, I was a mess. But the instant I boarded the train out of Alicante, I could feel that something was different, and I was very correct. The process of reintegrating back into American life was pretty difficult during the summer I returned, and I often cried myself to sleep. This sounds so pathetic, but these kind of life-changing experiences can’t just happen and then you continue on with your life as though nothing happened. Once I came back to the States, I found that journaling, Skyping my Spanish friends, and spending time with the other people I studied abroad with were integral in my process of settling back into normal American life.
Sometimes, even in the midst of all the super chaotic mess, it’s beautiful and that’s when all the growth happens. Between traveling most weekends for an entire semester, battling lots of extended sickness, and keeping up with all of my classes, it was an extremely busy time. But, at the time I knew it would be one of the most high-intensity, soul-fulfilling, eye-opening, experiences of my life. Three years later, as I sit here reflecting on this chapter of my life, I can confidently tell you that is 100% true and I would not trade that time for anything. I encourage everyone to study abroad if it is something they can feasibly do, as it will change your life – I promise.
Much love,
Olivia