When choosing to study abroad, people tell you how their lives changed, how a part of them became alive when they traveled the world, or how it was the best experience of their life. While all these are often true, there is a side of the abroad experience that isn’t talked about quite as much.
Whether you are going to a country you have been to before, or moving to a whole new one, it is inevitable that you will encounter barriers that nobody could have prepared you for. One of the most immediate barriers students encounter is language. But, its impact extends far beyond basic communication and you will learn to adapt your life and language to accommodate another.Â
Misunderstandings often arise in routine interactions, from ordering dinner at a restaurant or meeting new friends where your first language isn’t theirs. You will notice conversations move faster than your ability to respond. The way you learned to communicate collides with how others did, and suddenly, instinct replaces fluency. Laughing when others do, nodding along, or sticking to short, safe responses become your way of connecting.Â
There is a quiet isolation that comes from not fully understanding the world around you. Simple tasks may require more effort, confidence may fade in a time you would have once felt capable, or confusion may arise in everyday conversations. You might find yourself hesitating to speak or misunderstanding a response, and in doing so, you begin to shrink parts of your personality. Humor can become hard to express, opinions feel riskier to share, and the silence often feels safer than speaking incorrectly. It is in these moments that these barriers you would have never thought of, become the most apparent in your experience.
But these barriers don’t have to be daunting, they can be transformative. When you allow yourself to be uncomfortable, to grow and to learn from the people you meet, only then will you realize what studying abroad is really about. Growth abroad rarely comes from moments of ease, but from situations where you feel out of place and choose to stay anyway. Accepting that you will make mistakes—mispronouncing words, misunderstanding jokes, or responding too slowly—frees you from the pressure of perfection and opens the door to learning.
A process that I found helpful when studying abroad in Spain this past quarter was finding small ways to reclaim my sense of self. This may mean journaling daily, calling home when days feel heavy, finding familiar routines, connecting with people who have similar experiences, or even truly leaning into building a new version of yourself. When you begin to realize that this experience is yours, is when you begin to fully participate in living it.Â
You will learn that most people value effort more than accuracy. Meeting new friends, sharing meals, or simply asking for directions takes on a deeper meaning when you recognize that connection is often built through effort, curiosity, and openness.Â
Over time, these barriers that once felt overwhelming become proof that you stepped into discomfort and allowed yourself to change. Every misunderstanding or awkward moment is also an opportunity to learn, not just about the culture around you, but about how you interact, how you empathize, and how you relate to people from different backgrounds.
Moving across the world isn’t easy. It’s nerve-wracking, terrifying and full of unknown. But, those four months were the most liberating, freeing and overall exciting days of my life. They taught me to be scared but remain open-minded, to be realistic but also free-spirited, and to be happy with not knowing what’s next.Â
If you choose to go abroad, which I highly encourage you to do, it is certain that you will reach these barriers. However, these are symbolic of challenges you will face in your work, in your relationships, and in your life. They are not meant to scare you, they are meant to push you. To transform your previous beliefs about the world, and to be receptive to new ones.Â
I find myself along with everyone else when I say “abroad changed me,” because it truly did. I would have never known what I was capable of, what realities lay on the other side of the world, and the amount of people you can really connect with when you don’t even speak the same language. However, even when these realities do hit you when you are abroad, you will learn to adapt and overcome, because that too is part of your experience.
Studying abroad can be terrifying, but if it scares you and excites you at the same time, that is your gut telling you to go for it.