4 things your exchange company won't tell you (Part 2)

In my previous blog post I talked about a few things that you might take into account before going on exchange. Just bear in mind that I'm not trying to discourage you in any way, neither am I forcing you into nihilism (you'll understand that part soon). I'm only trying to mentally prepare you for your journey ahead, which hopefully will make everything go a little smoother. Additionally, these are just my experiences, so the following subjective points I'll be making do not have to apply to you. However, what's wrong with sharing some experiences? At least I get to act like I know a thing or two about a thing or two, so here are the next besserwisser points:

1. You won't keep in touch with everyone

Ahh, here we go. Another very cheery and happy change I'm making you aware of. The sad but honest truth is that neither you nor all of your friends and relatives will have the time and energy to keep each other updated on what's going on. Because believe it or not, even though you're away, life passes by in the exact same pace just like it has always done (yes, even despite living in different time zones). This doesn't mean you won't keep in touch with the most important people in your life at all, but you should get used to accepting that life goes on for everybody. That's why writing a blog or planning Skype dates wouldn't be such bad ideas when school, work and new friends get in the way. It might become a good life lesson for you as well, to realize how fast people and places change, how they come and go - and how this is just perfectly fine. Additionally, not talking to people from your home country every day or week might help you get through homesickness, especially if that leads you to work more on your social life in your new home. However, don't forget that this all only happens temporarily, and as a positive side effect, you'll notice how you value the times you'll get to visit your old family and friends even more, which will only strengthen your relationship with them.

2. It's not always going to be adventurous

Going on a long-time journey to another country, the glamorous Unknown, is what makes an exchange year sound so exciting. Everything makes you feel like a toddler who gets fascinated over simple things like your own belly button, white and blue cotton candy you see in the sky and even that moving piece of wood on the ground that - WHOOPS - it's a slimy worm (based on a true story). This Alice in Wonderland-feeling stays with you for as long as it's all new and fresh to you. But then you grow up. It might sound a little disappointing, but yes, even the greatest place is going to become average to you. And trust me, there's more: homesickness, being forced to cut down on activities because of your budget, school stress, daily life problems and conflicts, it's all going to be part of that life you'll be living. In many ways, it's not going to feel too different from home, and you'll most likely also go through boring phases during your exchange year (especially in January, oh man, Christmas and New Years nearly sucked out the life of my bank account). But hey, cheer up, because if your life abroad is starting to feel normal to you, this could be a good sign that you've managed to integrate yourself and established a new life in a place that not too long ago felt so unfamiliar to you.

3. The struggles about sharing a room

Sharing a room is almost like being in a relationship: in the beginning you're careful about focusing more on the other person's needs than your own, and you're incredibly afraid of farting when they're in the room. But eventually you come to a point where their untidiness or obsessive tidiness drives you mad, and their quiet and careful steps in the morning sound like elephant stomps to you. Having a room mate also definitely limits your privacy, which was one of the hardest changes I had to adapt to. You will eventually find 'your happy place', whether it will be a coffee shop or the school's library, perhaps you and your room mate will even come up with an agreement on when you can have the room for yourselves. But no matter what problems will occur, you learn to compromise and become better at communicating, which includes both confronting the other person with what you want, and listening to what their concerns are. Making these adjustments can force you to do some sacrifices, but if that prevents you from cutting each others' heads off in their sleep, then it will all be worth it.

4. You'll unexpectedly gain other life skills

Despite all of the exhausting and unforeseen challenges you're likely to face, there are countless of skills that can become way more useful to you than any bs on your CV. It's about life skills like setting up (and hopefully keeping) a budget, creating meals plans for your lunches to avoid ending up in Subway every day, learning how to adapt to a new environment and so much more that wouldn't fit in this blog post unless I wanted you to fall asleep halfway through. Even other experiences, that are way too underestimated in my opinion, like how to approach people, take initiative and responsibility, are great to develop through your year abroad, and will hopefully also contribute to making you feel more confident in your life later on.

The purpose of these points is not to scare you; unless this fear will drive you and empower you to take on challenges for the sake of your self growth, which could potentially result in good stories to tell at upcoming parties. However, I could bombard you with tons of tips and tricks and how-to-learn-from-my-mistakes moments, but the best advice would probably be to tell you to experience it all yourself. I hope that you found this helpful, and I will talk to you all soon. x

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