Spending a year abroad as a student is becoming increasingly common, with courses
incorporating compulsory years abroad or the development of the Erasmus program. Going overseas is
always an exciting prospect, but it can be daunting at times and homesickness is always lurking. So here
are 5 tips for your year abroad.
Take a little something from home
You will probably have to sit on your suitcase to get it closed on the big day (because yes, you
really do need those 10 pairs of shoes, shampoo to last you a year and a whole box of your favourite
tea). Even so, you should always keep enough space to fit that Christmas present from your mum, that
photo album your best friend made for you or even your favourite teddy bear. After the excitement of
the first month living abroad and meeting new people dies down, you might find yourself a little
blue, and you’ll be glad to have a small piece of home to look to.
Say « yes » to adventure
Spending a year abroad isn’t jut about academia; it’s a chance to immerse yourself in a new culture
and to try things that would never even have occurred to you back home. An Australian friend of mine
who spent a semester at my home university in Paris told me that his last month there had been the
best, because he decided to say « yes » to every invitation he received, be it for a night
out, a day at the museum or a hitch-hiking trip around France. There will be so many new things for
you to try, so don’t be shy or think « I’m not used to this, this isn’t for me ». Explore,
meet, engage and the memories you will bring back home will be all the more colourful for it.
Beware of clichés
You will have plenty of representations of wherever it is you are heading to, and the people there
will have plenty of representations about where you come from. It might be reassuring at first to
have these representations, they will act as landmarks for you when you feel lost, but be careful
not to get trapped into them. Clichés are at best a small part of a more complex reality, and if you
don’t try to look beyond them, you risk missing out on so much and going back home having learnt
very little. An evening at Paris’s most popular student
(and tourist adverse) bar rue de Clignancourt can be as exciting as a day at the Louvre or a
walk along the Seine. Besides, you will probably come across as an ignorant tourist if you start
stating in front of your local friends that all French people smoke and that they can’t live without
their croissant. Similarly, try not to get trapped into the clichés locals might have about you. As
a Franco-British citizen, I have found that most people have difficulty grasping the concept of a
double nationality. They often feel more comfortable once they have categorised me as one or the
other. In France, I usually end up being the Scottish girl, and in the UK, the French girl. In some
ways, this is a convenient ice breaker: people will love hearing your stories about how good and
cheap the wine is in France, and they’ll always have something to tell you about what they thought
of their visit to Paris last summer. But discussing French food and « le chic à la
française» will only get a relationship so far. Try to remember you are an individual, not
a nationality.
Get the local experience
The best way to learn and grow from your year abroad is to immerse yourself as much as possible in
your new environment. It isn’t always a simple task, but here are some good ways to mingle: join
student societies, find local flat mates and get yourself a part time job. Joining societies should
enable you to meet people with similar interests as you, and local flat mates or a part time job
will mean that you will spend time with locals, and get a taste of their daily lives. If you are
staying in a country whose language you do not speak fluently, don’t be scared. Click
here if you would like to learn a language fluently. It can be tempting to stick to English,
especially in a university environment where most people master Shakespeare’s language, but speaking
the local language is the only way you will get better at it. Besides, even if you may be teased
about your accent or mistakes, people will generally appreciate your efforts and find you friendlier
for them. On your quest for the « authentic » French life, German life, Swedish or Thai
life however, don’t try too hard to avoid fellow exchange students from your home country. They will
most likely be going through similar experiences as you, and will be great people to support you, or
share your joys with. And after weeks of listening to and speaking a foreign language, it will feel
liberating to hear a good old East-End accent again.
It’s okay not to be okay
Your year abroad is meant to be the best, most exciting time of your life, and chances are, it will
be. However, this doesn’t mean that all difficulties will magically disappear. Moving to a foreign
country can be a complicated process and things like opening a bank account, finding a new flat and
applying for financial support can get stressful. Some things might fall short of your expectation.
You will almost certainly miss the comfort and familiarity of home at times, and of course you’ll
miss your family and friends. While you will undoubtedly make new friends, some of which you will
keep for a lifetime, distance and new experiences might make you grow apart from old friends. Don’t
feel guilty because you’re feeling down, don’t try to hide it because you are expected to be having
a good time. Share your feelings and worries with family and friends, old and new. They will support
you through the tough times and opening up to them will likely reinforce the bond you share with
them.
Hopefully you now know all you need to know to make the most of your year abroad! My last piece of
advice is to those who are considering a year abroad, but are still unsure. Don’t worry too much
about the difficulties that might arise if you make that choice, they are nothing compared to how
much you will gain from living abroad and to how much you will enjoy yourself! « Les
voyages forment la jeunesse », as the saying goes.
Additional resources:
Why You
Should Study Abroad with Erasmus
Year Abroad
Learning Languages Abroad
