Thinking about studying abroad but worried about how you may cope in a foreign country with social anxiety? This was my main worry when I applied for study abroad programs. Prior to leaving for my trip, I was terrified that I would not make any friends and would be stuck on my own for five weeks in London, but it ended up being the best experience of my life.
Atop Urqhart Castle overlooking Loch Ness in Highland, Scotland.
As someone who has always wanted to travel, studying abroad sounded like an amazing opportunity, but as someone who struggles with making friends, I was also concerned about interacting with the people I would be traveling with. The specific program I signed up for was a faculty-led one, meaning there would be a group of other students travelling with me and attending the same classes. While this seemed great since I would not be on my own, it also meant I had to get to know my classmates.
Roman Baths in Bath, England.
I had never been great at socializing with people I did not know, but I also was not confident enough to navigate a foreign country on my own. This predicament really hit me on my first night in London, and I found myself questioning why I ever thought I could do something like this. I was too shy to even talk to people in class back home, and now I had to quickly befriend people to sightsee with unless I wanted to spend my entire trip in my room, too afraid to go out on my own.
I ended up listening to where other students in my group were planning on going each day and joined them on their adventures. Often times, people would go off in groups and would welcome whoever wanted to join. Using this method caused me to become friends with two girls I basically spent my entire five weeks abroad with.
St. John’s College in Oxford, England.
The three of us went all over London and took weekend trips to Oxford, Belgium, and Scotland, which is another thing that would normally terrify me. When going almost anywhere, I prefer to have a firm idea of what I will be doing and worry about every little thing that could go wrong. However, I found myself agreeing to go on spontaneous trips – like to Belgium, for example – without having any idea what we would do there and just figuring it out as we went along. These trips ended up being the best parts of my time abroad.
Grand Palais in Brussels, Belgium.
If you are concerned about your anxiety getting in the way of studying abroad, I encourage you to try it anyway. It is an incredible experience that may bring out a different side of you that you never knew you had. Also, if you go on a program with a group of people, they are often in the same boat as you. They are also trying to navigate a foreign country without knowing anyone, so that alleviates some of the pressure you may feel talking to people in normal situations, and you may end up creating some unforgettable memories with them.