So you just came back from studying abroad and you’re not really sure what “real life” was before you left. You have exams now, you can’t travel to amazing places on the weekends, you don’t live in an amazingly beautiful and historical place anymore and the world is no longer at your finger tips… it’s called the post-life of studying abroad.
These are the ten realities every student who studied abroad goes through when returning back to UMass…
1. When you first come back after a semester abroad and you’re so excited to be reunited with your friends:
2. The old familiar faces, the smells of your apartment or dorm and you realize you are home:
3. But then reality of not being in that magical bubble of studying abroad really kicks in:
4. You realize you actually have to take “real” exams and have to do “real” work now:
5. Your weekends don’t consist of taking a train ride to Paris or a flight to Ireland anymore:
6. Your friends who didn’t go abroad are starting to call you out for talking about studying abroad all the time:
7. Until you meet someone who also went abroad and you feel an instant connection:
8. You start going to Blue Wall to get gelato to pretend you’re in Italy again:
9. You start searching for someone you know who is thinking of studying abroad at the same place you went to:
10. And finally you realize studying abroad was amazing but so is coming back home to your friends and family at UMass: