It’s finally your study abroad semester!
You board your plane from the US, getting all excited about the fabulous things you’ll do when you arrive.
But when you get there, people start talking to you and you’re just like,
Meeting your host family for the first time is super awkward.
But by the end of the semester, you’re more like,
You were so pumped to go out your first night, but then the jet lag hits you.
The new culture takes some getting used to too. Like trying to buy normal tampons…
…and dealing with the fact that none of your jeans fit anymore because of the European dryers…
…and having to pay to use public restrooms…
…and natives who always ask you if all Americans eat is McDonald’s, to which you respond,
You and your friends swear you won’t go to McDonald’s at all while you’re abroad, but by the end of the semester you’re just like,
And you give in. But whatever, those fries were just calling your name.
At first looking at Facebook photos of all your friends hanging out without you in the States makes you feel all,
But then you remember that you’re in Europe, and you’re just like,
You’re here to have a cultural experience!
Well, that too. But you also want to visit important historical sites.
Plus, guys with accents are automatically more attractive.
Except when they catcall you in the street.
And with the non-creepy guys, it’s hard to tell if they’re European or just
When your professors actually assign you work, you’re just like,
But there’s that one girl who actually wants to study abroad, and you’re just like,
There’s also that person who always complains about how America is sooo much better than your host country, and you just want to tell her,
Study abroad is so chill. The most stressful things in your life are now making sure you look great in the thousands of tourist pictures you take,
…and planning all the logistics for your multi-country weekend trips. Which is actually really stressful.
But when you complain about it to your friends back home, they’re just like,
But really though, hostels are just like,
And couchsurfing seems like a great idea at first. Free lodging?!
Until you realize your host is super sketchy and you’re just like,
You find a super cheap Ryanair flight,
But then you read their baggage restrictions, and you’re just like,
And you think you’ve done pretty well picking cheap travel options… until you convert the euros to dollars.
Then your flight gets delayed because of a workers’ strike, and you’re just like,
But traveling is so much fun! You get to see all these beautiful monuments and churches.
But by about the tenth church you see you’re just like,
If you go to the beach, just make sure that you know whether it’s nude or not or else you’ll be like,
Going out abroad is still great, though. No open container law!
And European clubs?
You think they’re going to be so much more cultured than American clubs, but you get there and realize that they only play American music anyways and you’re just like,
When you first drink the 3-euro wine, you’re like,
But by the end of the semester, you’re like,
At first people judge you and your friends for acting like “obnoxious, loud Americans” and you’re just like,
But by the end of the semester, whenever you hear loud Americans you’re like,
Eating out in Europe is awesome. You find out the wine is cheaper than water and you’re like,
You start developing very strong feelings about Nutella.
I mean, it’s cheaper than peanut butter—and SO much more delicious. But your host family tells you eating it every day is unhealthy and you’re just like,
So when you get back to the US, you just tell yourself the scale is lying.
Even with all the traveling, going out, and little work you’ve done all semester, you still manage to pass your classes.
Basically, study abroad is awesome.
But, unfortunately, you have to fly back to the US eventually.