Preparing for Study Abroad – Page 9

The first week is no doubt always the most difficult to get through in any situation. You’re out of your element and are needing to adapt to a new lifestyle for the next few months. During that first week I never believed that from that single first day, the rest of the days would fly. It is currently October 16th and it’s been a full month since the program started in September. Midterms have come and gone and the week after this upcoming week, we get a week off of school. I believed that the days would be so long and I would get very homesick. I did get homesick and I still do because I do miss things from the States every now and then and I do miss my old lifestyle and my friends and family and my dog. However, one thing to note, is that you can most definitely have those moments, it’s not a good idea to stay in them because that will not make your trip enjoyable. There are a few ways that I was able to get over the homesickness quickly and those examples are: hanging out with the friends that I have made during this time, going out to eat and finding new hangout spots, taking nice walks around the city and along the river that is nearby, journal, talk to my family. Now that talking to family one can be a hit or a miss depending on mood.

During the first week for me the biggest struggle was remembering the time chance between here in Austria, and back in the United States. Where I am from there is about an 8 hour time change so it was (and still is) difficult to hold back from calling mom first thing in the morning when it’s usually either late at night or early in the morning. Now, another difficulty was just going to school. Usually when you go to Europe from America, you go to take a vacation and not for school so I did not really want to go to school but, I had to and that first week we were fortunate to be able to go to whatever classes we wanted to try out what we wanted before submitting a final form to finalize what classes we wanted to take this semester. I pretty much already knew what I wanted to take therefore I just went to my planned classes already. It was nice to meet my professors (though here they don’t really call themselves our teachers rather than just teachers) and know what their teaching styles are. Something that I definitely appreciate is that they don’t assign a whole lot of homework to do outside of school. It seems that the teachers and staff in this program seem to have an understanding that us students are here to study but also to explore and live life. The work so far has been so much easier and has caused so much less stress than what I was used to. So that definitely be one thing I will miss when it is time to leave!

That first week not much happened. The program organized a few activities for us to do to get to know each other and to get to know the city more, people hung out together and really it was pretty calm and relaxing. The school part was relatively easy to get the hang of the real headache was the bus. I was not used to taking the bus back in the USA so coming here to where the bus is the preferred way of getting around was difficult. Luckily we were provided a monthly bus pass so after we got it stamped we didn’t need to worry about getting bus passes every day and just got on the bus and got off at our stop. However, because pretty much everything is in German, I really did struggle to listen to what was being said over the radio system in the bus. There is an English translation but it’s a bit odd when you’re listening to someone speak in German one second and the next moment English is being spoken so you can’t always hear the English. I had thankfully gotten an Austrian SIM card already so I was able to use my maps and other apps offline with no problem so I did know where to get on the bus and where to get off the bus and pretty much every day there are groups that go to the study center together so I got the hang of things pretty quickly. I wouldn’t say that for the first day though… we almost got on the wrong bus that would have taken us the completely opposite direction had someone not spoken up and told us we were getting on the wrong bus. So, definitely pay attention to which direction the bus is going in!

As for my living situation I am staying in this “dorm” like building. It’s not necessarily called a dorm as there are more than just students living here but it’s not really an apartment either so I really couldn’t tell you what type of building I’m living in. I was put in a single and some others were put in doubles. In the beginning I was a bit upset that I was put in a single because I do remember selecting the double option for when we were filling out and sending back forms and such but I did realize that it was probably better this way because I do like to have my own space and I do like my alone time as much as I like hanging out with others. It just means that I would need to work a bit harder on making connections and making plans with others which I have learned that I am okay with doing. It’s been an adventure to say the least. There’s a shared kitchen on each floor but we all get our own cabinet and small box in the fridge both of which have locks that we have the keys to. The program provided us with pots and pans and cooking stuff after paying a small deposit. I’ll admit that I was a bit too scared to use the kitchen for the first few days of being here so I did spend some of my money on takeout. However, over the weeks of being here I have grown more comfortable using the kitchen and have even met some really nice people while cooking.

Overall, I would say that it is okay to be scared and during the first week or so it’s common. You don’t know many people, you don’t always know the language, everything’s pretty much new so to go from living your life in your home country to living a new life in a new country is completely normal and understandable. I still get scared sometimes! However, for me, I have made some new friends that have made the transition a lot smoother and easier. I do get homesick sometimes still but I really am enjoying my time here in Austria and have learned a lot about the countries history and its people. I am always looking forward to what the day is going to bring me.

That’s it for now!

-Anna

I have moved 12 times in my life. 10 of those moves were before I turned fifteen. Colorado to Montana to Idaho back to Colorado and over again, but none of that prepared me for moving abroad to Glasgow, Scotland. I came to Glasgow with my best friend. We did not plan it that way, we just have the same major, and Glasgow was our top choice program. This gave me a sense of stability as I prepared to depart from Colorado. I have never lived away from my family before; I stayed in state for college for that very reason. I knew it would be hard and I was afraid. Maybe that’s why I procrastinated packing until two days before I left. I feared being homesick. Little did I know, you don’t get a choice of being homesick or not.

Everyone came to the airport to send me off. My mom, my mom’s boyfriend, my grandma, and my boyfriend. We fit as many people as possible into Nana’s Toyota Rav 4. I tried not to cry the whole way to the airport but every few minutes a tear would slip out. I rushed through the goodbyes as fast as possible trying and failing to keep it together. I was shaking as I watched their car drive away. I was still sad as my best friend, and I made our way through security, but I didn’t understand why. I remember watching the sunset as I sat at my gate thinking to myself “I had already said my goodbyes so why was I still upset?” The plane ride from Denver to London was 9 hours. We arrived at 11:30am and the first thing I noticed when we flew in was the cars on the highway, they were all driving on the left side of the road. It was something small, but it looked so funny to me. Due to British Airways strikes our flights got switched around a month before we left, and we got stuck with an 8-hour layover at London Heathrow Airport. We got food and took turns sleeping while we waited for the flight. I watched the sunset at the gate again, and I wondered if I was going to feel this sadness every time I watched the sun go down. By the time we arrived in Glasgow, we were exhausted. It was 11:30pm when we got into our flat. The whole building was quiet. We were so tired but due to the 7-hour time change, there was no way we could sleep. We ordered Domino’s pizza (of all things) using a coupon we got in our welcome package and began settling in. I remember going to sleep that night I felt odd. I was safe and I was comfortable, but I was sad. I wondered if I was going to feel homesick the whole time I was in Glasgow.

Being the problem solver I am, my mind immediately went to how I could leave early from the program. During finals weeks there were no classes so maybe I could go home sooner than planned, maybe I could change my flight, maybe I could change my boyfriend’s flight so that he could visit me sooner, maybe I couldn’t do this. These thoughts and emotions lasted over a week. I felt physically sick too. I was dizzy and nauseous all the time. I was tired at every hour of the day even after the jet lag wore off. I had headaches and it seemed like this sickness was not getting better. After the third or fourth day of complaining to my best friend she said it was all in my head. I was so offended. Why would she tell me I was making this stuff up? I really did not feel good. But after thinking about it and doing a quick google search I realized she was right. I was homesick.

I was trying to ignore my feelings because I thought it was so stupid for a 20-year-old college student to be homesick less than 7 days after leaving home but that was the truth. Recognizing my feelings was the cure. I remember the conversation I had with myself. I had to tell myself that I deserved this experience. I have worked hard in school and worked hard to financially afford going abroad. I reminded myself that I can do hard things and I am brave enough for this challenge. Once I accepted my homesickness it became easier to manage. After about two weeks I was so intrigued with exploring Glasgow and the surrounding area that the melancholy had worn off. School started and we began taking trips to places around Scotland and Europe making time fly by. My advice to those worried about being away from home is to accept those emotions before you leave. I fooled myself by thinking that after the goodbyes at DIA, everything would be fine. It takes time and a good pep talk before you feel better. The homesickness doesn’t last forever, and the more accepting you are the easier it will be. This may seem like a sad story but it’s not. I am so grateful that I have something in my life that is hard to say goodbye to and they will be right there waiting for me when I get back. Homesickness is not a bad thing, it’s a reminder to appreciate the blessings of family and friends. Everyone needs to be humbled like that occasionally.

Blog Post 1a — University of Glasgow Campus

Blog Post 1b — Glasgow West End District near the University of Glasgow

Pieces of advice to prepare for arrival:

Get a UK phone plan: I can’t speak for people who are studying in places other than the UK but Giff Gaff is a must. Phone plans in the UK range from £10-£20 a month. My best friend and I suspended our Verizon phone plan in The United States for three months (That is the longest you can suspend it) and ordered sim cards from a mobile company called Giff Gaff. My card was £15 which got me 30 GB of Data in the UK and 5 GB of roaming data in European Union countries. This plan also had unlimited texting and calling. Verizon abroad plans are about $300 per month with strict limits on data, texting, and calling so this saved a lot of money. All we had to do was switch out the sim cards at the London airport during our layover and we were good to go. Just don’t lose your US carrier sim card, you’ll need that when you return!
Pack light: There’s no way you will be able to know everything you are going to need while abroad and checking bags is expensive. You will also buy a lot of things once abroad like medicine, clothes, beauty products, hair products, souvenirs, kitchenware, cleaning supplies, etc. My best advice is to focus on clothes and leave behind the shoes. How many times are you really going to wear those boots? When you arrive don’t get carried away with bathroom products, kitchenware, and cleaning supplies. You can’t bring back all those pots, pans and wine openers so stick to the basics.
Buy a crockpot: One fantastic investment that my roommate and I made was a small £20 crockpot. It made dinners so easy. There are tons of cheap and easy crockpot recipes that make lots of leftovers. We used our crockpot at least 3-4 times a week which saved us so much money in eating out.
Don’t ship anything: Due to some harsh procrastination, I did not go to the doctor until three days before I left for Glasgow. When the doctor said I needed new glasses and contacts I was stressed because there was no way I was going to get them ordered and delivered before I left. I didn’t have my UK address yet, so my mom and I planned for her to ship my contacts to me when they were delivered to our apartment. They were just contacts so they can’t be that expensive. We were wrong. For an envelope with a three-month supply of contacts plus shipping insurance, UPS charged nearly $200. This already hurt our wallets but then when they were delivered the courier charged me another $90. So, you may say to yourself while packing “In the worst case we can ship this to me.” This is a big mistake. I could have waited and ordered my contacts when I got to Glasgow, but hindsight is always 20/20.

The Summer leading up to my departure from the United States I would tell people that I was studying abroad for three and a half months, and it seemed like every time they would ask me the same question: “Are you excited?”. And every time I would nod my head yes and say, “I’m so excited, it is going to be so much fun.” But I always felt a little fake every time I gave that response. I actually wanted to say, “I’m excited, but I’m nervous, scared, and anxious too.” I always felt like that was not the right answer. But now I don’t think there is a right answer. It sounds cliché and cheesy but it’s true. I learned that it’s okay to be afraid if it does not confine you. Studying abroad is brave. It may come easier to some people than others but at the end of the day no matter who you are, it is courageous because you are choosing to challenge yourself in every way possible. So, whether your struggle is homesickness, not being able to eat fast food for lunch every day, making new friends, taking classes in a different language, or just not knowing the name of the street you live on, know that all it takes is a little courage. There is always fear, but the response is what matters.

This photo was taken on my birthday six days after we arrived to Scotland. This is the Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Category: Preparing for Study Abroad

First Week

Leaving on a Jet Plane…