As the spring semester comes to an end, collegiettes studying abroad try to enjoy every minute of their overseas adventure. This time is for arranging more places to travel, meeting new people from different countries and, of course, finishing the bucket list.
They’re ready to make a diary of all their memorable moments. This means looking through the London Eye, partying it up in Brussels and enjoying the beautiful sunset in Salamanca. But something that may not be good to remember this time around is having a boyfriend back home. The 12 different time zones can definitely be the recipe for disaster in a relationship. It’s the love test.
For Cristina, a junior studying abroad in Salamanca, having a boyfriend in Puerto Rico has been quite the challenge. “When I first arrived to Salamanca, I barely had the time to talk with him because I was trying to get to know the city and get settled in. Now, I have a little more time but still we talk and end up fighting because he doesn’t understand that this is my experience.”This collegiette is trying to make her relationship work across different continents.
It’s no secret that all relationships experience ups and downs-it’s during these tough times that you’re most likely to see whether your relationship can stand up to the test. It always brings this question to mind:”Does being long-distance make your relationship stronger?”. There is no doubt that studying abroad and being miles away from your partner serves as a measure of the foundation of your relationship. So, the real challenge here is: can you handle it?
Let’s not kid ourselves: it’s hard to survive, but this can also be a learning experience. Now, this collegiette is not the only one that has taken the risk of going abroad and leaving their sweetheart miles away. But Cristina has found some valuable pros and cons about having her boyfriend back home.
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Cristina in Salamanca: Pros and Cons of Long Distance
Pros:
1. Get to know myself a little bit better: this is a learning experience and what better way to get to know yourself than being by yourself. Studying abroad without your boyfriend can be beneficial because it helps you find out your likes and dislikes.
2. Cultivating new friendships: sometimes when you’re abroad with your boyfriend, you focus so much on being with him that you miss out on great friendships. This is an opportunity for getting to know new people and make new friends.
3. Avoiding creepy guys: being in a relationship isn’t that bad when you’re in another country. You get to avoid annoying guys… I have a friend in Salamanca and she’s single. She went out to a nightclub and started to dance with this Spanish guy, when all of a sudden he grabs her ass and lifts her up-like WTF. So, yeah being in a relationship while studying abroad: not so bad!
4. Getting to know each other too well: when you’re miles away from your sweetheart, that makes you want to talk to him about things that you’d have never talked about before. You get to know every dirty little secret…well, most of them. The miles sometimes help to open up and talk about everything.
Cons:
1. Being long-distance sucks: yeah, we all get homesick at some point. But the key to surviving this tough time is to remember why are you in the relationship.
2. Question the relationship: being overseas and away from your sweetheart makes you question: “is this really worth my time?”. Now, the answer to this one isn’t that plain and simple.
3. Fighting on Skype or WhatsApp: If you think your relationship can work, then make sure you both have Skype and WhatsApp. There, you will be able to spend your time either fighting or talking about your adventures. You decide, remember that this rollercoaster will end in a couple of months…try to enjoy every minute of it!
4. Missing out the adventure of a lifetime: if you’re too focused on your relationship, you might be missing out the fun of this experience. Make sure to disconnect sometimes and remember that this is YOUR time. Just because you’re off writing one of the best chapters of your life, doesn’t mean that you’re putting less value to your relationships back home. Tell him to respect your time, put some boundaries!
*Name was changed to protect identity. The pictures were taken from: Cristina’s Facebook