Having worked with both college and highschool students while they are studying abroad, I often tell them during orientation that studying abroad is like being in kindergarten all over again… How?  

You’ll need to memorize your home address.  Learning your way around a new city (and public transportation) is one thing, but being able to tell a cab driver your address to get you home is quite another.  The same can be said for memorizing a phone number (in case you lose your cell phone).

You need to learn how to cross the street.  Whether it be dodging bikes in Copenhagen, having near-death experiences with rickshaws in Delhi or taxis in Rome, or simply having traffic on the opposite side of the road; you will have to re-learn looking both ways before (and while) crossing the street!

You need someone to explain things to you.  Much like when you were a small child, you’re probably going to have lots of questions about what’s going on around you.  And often, only a local can do that for you.  What better motivation do you need to make a local friend, or chat with your host family over a meal?

You need to clean your plate!  Not really, but you should be willing to try new things.  In my house as a kid, we had the “one bite rule.”  Try to have an open mind and enjoy the local fare!

You might have a hard time expressing yourself.  If you’re studying in a foreign-speaking country, you’ll have daily challenges for your language skills.  It’s hard not to feel like a kid when you talk like one.   Related to this:  You might be jealous of the 1st-graders… because they speak more fluently in the host language than you do.  🙂

Michelle Rembolt, DUSA Program Manager

P.S.  This blog post was inspired to GoAbroad’s recent blog posting on Turning Back the Clock: 10 Ways Traveling Turns You into a Child.  Check it out!