The Foreign Service Journal, December 2005

84 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 5 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT own interests and hobbies. Besides giving you a connection to life beyond the school, they can be a reason to come back to this city where you lived for a semester or two. Keep a journal and take lots of photos. You’ve probably already heard those pieces of advice, but they’re both true. When you get back home, you’ll have a first-person chronicle and timeless reminders of international adventures, ready to return you to your time abroad. The Re-entry Process Believe it or not, coming home might be the hardest part of the entire experience. Returning to the world of midnight fast food and endless super- markets can trigger a nasty case of reverse culture shock. And whether you fell in love with your host country or not, and even if other friends also studied abroad, you may feel frustrat- ed that no one else can relate to this amazing experience you just had. What do you say at Christmas when your grandparents ask, “So how was it?” How do you describe this incred- ible experience? Studying abroad drops you right into the lifestyle of another corner of the world. Although you might feel like one at first, you are much more than a visitor — you’ll need to know the essentials: where to buy groceries, how to use the public transportation, which gestures are offensive … the list goes on. I found out, for instance, that in the United Kingdom, the word “pants” refers to what we Yanks call “underwear.” So you learn to watch what you say (sometimes the hard way!). The study-abroad experience is unique in that, in the end, you are a tourist and a local, and soon when people ask you for directions, you’ll be able to answer them. You can still enjoy the tourist traps of the city and then join local undergraduates at the student union, which, if you happen to be in Europe, will usually serve cheap alcohol. Above all, being removed from your normal situation gives you a chance for introspection, so you can learn who you really are. Study abroad gives new meaning to the phrase “discovering different per- spectives.” You go abroad to learn about another way of life, but end up learning even more about your own identity, and returning to the United States with a new appreciation for life at home. No matter how much traveling you have done, studying abroad is some- thing every university student should do before graduating. After all, col- lege provides you with this one chance to live abroad that you will most likely never have again. It’s easy to dream about it. Now take the next step. Go ahead — take the plunge. n Continued from page 83