The first thing you should know about me is that I’m happiest while traveling. The best feeling ever is getting the chills when you discover a gorgeous new place or the sense of comfort when you try a delicious local delicacy or when your heart melts because you meet someone that you know is meant to be in your life. I really appreciate traveling because with every experience and challenge, I grow. I’m so grateful as these experiences have taught me to be unapologetically myself.
If I was born the child of a billionaire, I would spend my life discovering every corner of the earth. However, that’s not the case so I chose the second-best option of studying international business which will potentially allow me to enjoy a career abroad. I have spent the past two years studying at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario where we had business, culture, and language classes to prepare for this very moment – studying in Augsburg, Germany for the year!
Plus, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to live abroad before coming to Germany so, this transition phase isn’t new to me but it still poses different challenges every time. No matter how often you travel or however many countries you live in, you will always be able to find something new. For some, this experience is terrifyingly paralyzing and others it is brings overwhelming amounts of joy.
The best part about it is that YOU get to decide!
Now, I know, some of you have a more natural burning desire to explore the world than others but you can relate this back to trying anything new whether it be moving to a foreign country or learning to skate. When you decide to pack your life up and book a plane ticket (or lace up your skates), that’s only one small step in preparing. You should step foot in the country (or on the ice) before you make a judgement. The question isn’t whether it will be difficult, because it will, but whether it will be worth it, and it will.
Not many students return from studying abroad with a list of negative experiences they want to share with family and friends, instead, they typically share the highlight reel of their year completely omitting any negative feelings like uncertainty, loneliness, or vulnerability. I think it’s important to keep it real and share proportionate levels of each. I like to have the mindset of ‘growth happens when you push the limits of your comfort zone’ which is why I find the most challenging aspects of cultural exchanges so valuable. It’s where you learn that you must LET GO in order to progress – easier said than done, right.
Just like you would let go of the hand you’re depending on to keep your balance while learning to skate. At some point, you just need to do it. Yes, there might be a few bumps and falls along the journey back that can also happen while studying in your home country.
Sometimes it’s difficult to find motivation especially when your biggest supporters aren’t by your side. One of the things that helped me the most is keeping in contact with friends on exchange and, of course, making friends with exchange students in my new home.
It’s comforting to know someone understands everything you’re going through and instead of getting upset, you learn to laugh together. Maybe you didn’t know which bathroom to go in, almost got run over by a bike (multiple times), stared cluelessly at the dairy wall in the grocery store for 10 minutes, translated every setting on the washing machine, asked someone to repeat themselves more times than felt comfortable… and yes, all these things happened to me. The truth is that these embarrassing things happen to everyone. Best said by the band Great Big Sea: “It’s all your state of mind. And at the end of the day, you’ve just got to say, it’s alright.”
So much happens in the course of a week, I feel like I need to sit in my room alone for a moment just to process everything. For example, in the first week alone, I shopped for supplies for my room, navigated all the bureaucratic steps to study in Germany, chose my course schedule, attended many events to meet people, planned trips to nearby cities, and the list goes on. Sometimes it feels like I’ve totally lost control of my life and someone is leading me on this journey because life is moving so quickly.
There’s no way to fully prepare for the whirlwind but the most important tip I have that helped me immensely is to reach out to those who’ve gone through it before.
Prost (cheers)!
by Ceiledh Monk