Coming Home
Going into a new experience is always scary, and no matter what, I don’t think it’s ever possible to be entirely prepared for what lies ahead. When I was sitting on the plane in Buffalo, waiting to go to New York City to meet my group to fly to Spain, I suddenly panicked because I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had only flown once before, and never by myself, and I had never left North America. Being on another continent for an entire semester was something that I never thought I would experience, and the fear of the unknown completely freaked me out. Little did I know, I had nothing to be afraid of because at the end of the semester I would come home with a completely different outlook on life and a much greater sense of independence and confidence, both in myself and in my ability to defend my beliefs. At the end, traveling was no big deal; it made me become a lot more independent.
People had told me that I wouldn’t understand how much studying abroad would change me until I had actually experienced it and returned home. I definitely agree; it’s really hard to predict how something will turn out when you go into it completely open-minded. I went into this experience with an open mind and didn’t really have any specific expectations. I wanted to learn through my experiences, and not just through my classes. I knew that I would learn some useful information in my classes, but I didn’t go to Spain for that; I went for the overall experience. So if my only expectation was to experience Spanish culture first-hand, I succeeded. I think that’s the mentality you have to have in situations like this. You have to be willing to leave your inhibitions behind and just jump into a new culture. I think studying abroad would be beneficial to anyone; it teaches you so much about yourself and you change so much in the process. Even if you decide to study abroad without technically going abroad, the experience would still be worth it because you would still be thrown into an unfamiliar situation and would be able to learn just as much. Academics are an important aspect of studying abroad, but I don’t think the classroom education is the main focus, nor should it be. It can help make the connection to the culture and give students background information about the culture in which they are living, but it shouldn’t be the only aspect that someone takes away from study abroad.