“Well? How was your exchange? Your pictures looked amazing!” Hearing these words over and over again for the past few weeks upon my return gave me a weird feeling. It really was over. All the travelling, the new friends, connections and new experiences had finally come to an end. But reality sinks in sooner or later. I’m back home now and saying that I haven’t changed at all is a complete lie.
I left Vancouver for my study abroad with the full intention of having a good time. But little did I know, just plainly “having a good time” no longer became my sole purpose. I took it upon myself to understand who I was as best I could. Here are some things I’ve learned while living abroad.
Take plenty of photos and videos. Yes, I get it. No one wants to be that annoying friend who is constantly taking photos, snapchatting, VLOG-ing, and so on. But really? I now have a gallery full of photos that I can look back at and treasure, well, forever. As long as you are still living in the moment while you’re abroad, take advantage of these technologies. Before embarking on your travels, highly make sure your laptop and phone storage is ready to go. You don’t want to be that girl with a gorgeous Italian sunset before you with your iPhone screen saying “Cannot take photo. There is not enough available storage.”
Being alone can be therapeutic. I cannot stress this enough. This can mean taking a mini solo vacation or even spending quality time alone one morning in a coffee shop. I knew of people who travelled through certain locations in Europe all by themselves. Why? Because there is just nothing like it. You can go wherever you please, eat wherever you desire with the only goal of satisfying none other than yourself. Some may find this rather lonely or what not. But in all honesty, most of the time loneliness – especially while living abroad – stems from a foreign feeling rather than actual loneliness.
Embrace this foreign feeling you’re having. Like the foreign feeling I mentioned above…you’re in Europe for goodness sakes! Be who you want to be and act however way you want. It’s kind of like an opportunity to build yourself all over again but in a completely unfamiliar country with not a single person who knows you. At first, the foreign feeling was so strong that for some days, I almost felt uncomfortable to leave my home to walk through the streets near where I lived. There were no doubt feelings of anxiety, danger and of not fitting in but at the end of the day, I embraced this with my fellow exchange friends and we got through it together.
You don’t need the answers to everything. A friend of mine asked me one day, “why are you visiting Norway? Are you travelling by yourself?” I mean…why not? Every trip I took, whether it is solo or as a group was done almost spontaneously. Whenever you feel like you have to scramble for answers, just know that you don’t owe anyone an answer to the decisions you make. You are independent of your own choice and ultimately, happiness!
Fall in love. And no, I don’t mean just falling head over heels for a foreign person. I mean…falling in love with people, places and things! Europe of all places has made me learn to fall in love with a place like I had never before. There is something positively exhilarating about taking a walk in older districts of Amsterdam, Berlin and Brussels that can stir up something inside you. Everything is so enrich in history and the people living there have so much to share with you. Let yourself feel the emotions that these people, places and things make you feel. And maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll fall in love too!