1. When you realize you can *legally* drink in your host country
2. When you see a dog after weeks of not seeing yours
3. When you try to navigate your way across strange towns
4. When you finally find wifi after not using yours for hours (because let’s be real, who can actually afford the unlimited data plan?)
5. When you try to interact with the locals, but their accents are thick enough to need subtitles
6. When you’re trying to take inspirational pictures with your friends, but none of you are in sororities
7. When you realize you actually have to attend class two times a week
8. When you run on four hours of sleep (or less) every night
9. When you’re known around town as “that loud group of Americans”
10. When you run into someone outside of your study abroad group who’s from America
11. When you promise yourself that you’ll only eat traditional foods from your host country, but find pizza on the menu
12. When you buy so many souvenirs that you contemplate throwing all of your clothes away
13. When you go to the pub to watch a sports match, only to realize it’s nothing like the sports at home
14. When the trip comes to and end and you have to say goodbye to the people that became your family
15. When you finally come home and immediately miss one of the greatest experiences of your life
Thumbnail by Sylwia Bartyzel on Unsplash.