After living in a different city and country for 4 months, it is almost expected that the transition back to college will be tough. In my case, I had a harder time adjusting back to the American lifestyle than I had initially adjusting to the Spanish culture. All of the friends that I made abroad live in different parts of the country and I didn’t have anyone to reminice with about all the experiences I had.
Cultural changes
One of the biggest struggles that I faced was only focusing on negatives. There are so many differences between Providence, Rhode Island and Barcelona, Spain. Obvious differences, like the weather, and more personal changes to my habits and lifestlye became very noticable. This was upsetting and made me feel like I was missing out on something better in life. The way that I have learned to deal with this is by getting back into my regular schedule. By sticking to a plan, I don’t have much time to sit and think about how different everything is. If I start feeling a little stuck and want to suddenly hop on a plane and travel, then I take a drive and explore something new around the area.
Sharing stories
Another struggle I faced is sharing my experiences. There is no one at school who experienced study abroad with me, and it is like a whole other life that only I know about. I often want to share stories, but don’t want to over-do it and annoy everyone else by constantly talking about it. I manage this by taking some time every once in a while to look at pictures and text my friends that I made abroad. Laughing about stories brings back good memories and reminds me that, yes, those 4 months were real and amazing!
Getting back into the swing of things
Getting back into the swing of school is the number one problem that I am still having 2 months in. If I am being honest, study abroad classes are easy. There is no comparison to the level of course difficulty and the amount of assignments due throughout the semester. Coming back, I essentially forgot how to plan ahead on my assignments in order to stay on top of my work. I try not to get to caught up on the initial grades in my classes, and focus on long term success.
Overall, I would recommend focusing on the postitives. Be happy that you got to study abroad and look foward to the day when you can return!