It’s that time of year again…Christmas BREEAAAAK (in other words, a love fest for college students all around the world). Whether your family visits you every weekend or you haven’t seen them all semester, you should expect royal treatment from your family and friends upon your return home. However, if you were abroad all semester, you can bet that royal treatment will triple and get ready for a break full of being waited on hand and foot. Here are a few perks of returning home after an exhausting semester of vacationing around Europe.
1. Everyone wants to hear all about your ~exotic~ travels
Sure, while you were at school everyone wanted to hear about your classes, college parties, boys, and your new friends, but after a while things get old. There is only so much variety in a story about 878 when you go there Every. Single. Weekend. But going abroad is a whole other story! I can’t count the amount of people eager to ask my about my travels, and it never gets tiring telling people about your semester long vacation.
2. Don’t have to lift a finger
Don’t get my wrong, I didn’t do much cleaning or dishwashing on my winter breaks while I was at Holy Cross, but when you spend the entire semester making your own food and washing your own dishes, your mom and dad start to feel bad for you. I came home to a spotless room and was excused from cleaning the house before Christmas Eve while my siblings were forced to vacuum and dust. A semester abroad complaining to your mom about the struggle of learning how to cook really helps you out over break.
3. Netflix and chill 24/7 with no shame
Although I had some awesome plans to go into the city, or spending my days shopping and ice-skating over break, let’s be real: all I wanted to do after my seven hour flight home was rest on the couch watching Netflix. And that’s exactly what I did. For about a week straight. While I probably would have been harassed by my mom or sister for doing this over a regular Holy Cross winter break I used the excuse of jetlag for my excessive laziness and I was not pestered a bit. I proudly made it through about four seasons of Gilmore Girls with no regrets whatsoever.
4. Money handed to you left and right
Ugh the struggles of having to pay for all my European travels! While at Holy Cross I really had no extra costs each semester: food was provided, and that’s about all a college student really needs. However, abroad there is the immense cost of traveling! While traveling is obviously a bonus of being abroad and I definitely did not NEED to travel every weekend, it’s a fabulous perk right at your fingertips during life abroad. Upon my return home, my grandparents were slipping me twenties at family gatherings and telling me to spend it on my trips next semester.
5. Free food
It seems like people never tell you this raving about their abroad experiences, but if you’re not with a host family (which I’m not) you actually have to purchase and cook your own food! This is actually quite a struggle, and my squad and I have practically given up on our ambitions to become fluent in the culinary arts and pretty much eat toast and eggs every night. However, coming home from my semester my mom (who’s secretly a chef) had me request dinners every single night. And the best part is that I never had to pay! From steak, to tacos, to calzones, to creampuffs, to buffalo chicken and mac & cheese, I was living large.
That’s all for now my fellow travelers, and remember to stay humble! Ha jk!