I remember vividly the first day of my Study Abroad Experience. I had never been on an international flight, and that day I woke up and got on a nine hour flight to Iceland, hopped on a connecting flight to Hamburg, Germany, then two days later proceeded to board a vessel that would sail halfway around the world for the next four months. I can still feel the nerves that shook me as I said goodbye to the only country I have ever called home to participate in a Semester at Sea. At the time I was excited to start my journey, but I was also slightly jealous of all my friends who had already moved into their apartments on Elon’s beautiful campus and were gearing up for a familiar first semester.
While abroad I quickly became wrapped up in the thrill of the experience, and forgot all about what was going on back at home. I am so glad that I fully embraced my semester abroad and became enveloped in so many different cultures. As the experience came closer and closer to ending, I began to dread coming back to the states. I knew I was going to miss watching sunsets from deck nine and calling a new country home every week. The semester inevitably came to an end and so did the journey of a lifetime. Before I knew it I was back on campus for Spring semester, but something was different. I felt so out of place on the campus that had been my home for two years. After talking to all of my friends who went abroad that fall and came to the realization that I was not the only one feeling this way. Everyone was suffering from a post abroad blues.
Being the optimistic individual I am, I refused to stay in a funk, I was not going to spend the semester feeling dissatisfied on a campus that has so much to offer. I grabbed a group of friends and we came up with a plan to fall in love with our campus again.
3 Steps to Cast Away Post Study Abroad Blues
1. Get Involved
This could mean joining the club soccer team, trying out for an acapella group, or just showing up at an on campus event. Every campus has a slew of organizations, with all kinds of people, that stand for so many different things. Finding your group of people can really help make any campus feel like home.
2. Take a Walk
Taking a walk around campus is one of my favorite things to do between classes, Elon’s beautiful scenery steals my heart every single day. Even if your campus is not as scenic as Elon’s, taking a walk can remind you of all your favorite memories you’ve made in different locations on campus.
3. Give it Time
After being on campus for a while, you will get into a grove. This could take a week , a month, or maybe even a few months, but after a while you will remember what brought you to your campus and why you loved it so much. But a positive attitude, an open mind, and keeping in mind that you will have the opportunity to go abroad again will help you adjust much faster!