Firstly, if you’ve never been abroad, GO! It is the greatest thing you will ever experience, and college students have such a unique opportunity to travel to different countries. You get to meet amazing people and learn about so many different customs and lifestyles. But once you come back from abroad, it’s an entirely different story…
1.You think about it every. single. day. It’s rough coming back from ancient Europe or exotic India to America, which seems kind of dull in comparison. It’s hard to not compare the wide paved roads of Los Angeles to the narrow cobbled roads of a small town in Italy.
2.You’re constantly talking about it too. This kind of goes away after a while, because you’ve told all the exciting stories already (100 times), and your friends might be a little tired of it. But sometimes you just can’t help mentioning that “When I was abroad in Argentina, they did such and such.”
3. Apologies for talking about abroad almost come naturally. “That totally happened to me, too! Sorry it’s another story about abroad but like….” and then you proceed to tell the story with utter fervor and no shame. Because reliving an abroad story is one of the best parts.
4. You hate when people ask where you got certain things. Because then you feel suuuper pretentious saying that you got a shirt “at a boutique in Paris” or those “shoes from a market in Malaysia.” This question, especially if you bought a suitcase load of souvenirs, is inevitable. It is hard to answer without feeling like you’re bragging, but you’ll learn that since it’s the truthful answer, you just gotta roll with it.
5. You distinguish between “abroad friends” and your actual friends. It sounds bad when you put it in writing, but it’s true! You’ll be telling a story [again] and you just have to say something like “and then my friend from abroad messaged me,” because it is necessary to specify.
6. Sometimes you just get so sad thinking about all the amazing food that doesn’t exist in America. This is especially hard if you went to Italy (but I might be biased). But the food blues is a real deal, and sometimes you can’t help but crave something that only exists in a different country! And it really does bring tears to your eyes.
7. You’ve become kind of a snob. Not all the time, but about specific things. “This isn’t real coffee!” “The guys are so not polite here.” “Ugh America is just too fast paced. In so and so country…” Even though this may seem like a negative, it’s actually so eye opening! Who knew that America wasn’t the best at everything?? Now you know, too.
8.You’re a study abroad ambassador. Unofficially. Not only do you tell everyone you meet about your amazing experience, but you tell them that they also have to do it! You become one of the best advocates for studying abroad, widely advertising how fun and educational study abroad can be.