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Growing up poor in rural America, going to another country, and even for some another state, was often unheard of. Only some lucky few with relatives that were connected could make it out of the dim world of a hometown. Leaving meant those travelers would come back different, better somehow now that they’d been “refined” into someone classy. Even when you’re older, studying for a degree you’re not always too confident in at a university you’re worried you must’ve somehow cheated your way into, traveling abroad is something mythical. But, it doesn’t have to be.
As a low-income student from Appalachia, study abroad always carried this connotation of self-discovery for me. That to leave the country will always result in a life changing alteration of perspective so deep that those around you won’t even recognize you when you return home.
I want to offer an honest opinion towards this mindset and some tips to reassure those considering going abroad that it not feeling “magical” doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.
Understanding the “Full Advantage” Rhetoric
Before you go abroad, if you’re anything like me, you’ll hear this a lot from friends and family: “Make sure you take full advantage of this opportunity!” Even after you get to your new host country, you’ll likely still hear some people mention this idea of taking “full advantage” of where you are. Don’t make this into your mantra of study abroad.
While these comments come from a loving place, at times they can make us feel as though we’re never actually doing enough when we’re abroad. Especially when you don’t have a large amount of money you can be spending abroad, picking and choosing what opportunities you truly wish to throw yourself into is extremely important. Understand that just because the people you came with in your program are able to spend more money and do more things than you doesn’t mean you’re squandering anything.
When you carefully consider what events, trips, and group gatherings you actually want to do, it opens your time abroad up to you as an individual immensely. There will often be a plethora of free events you will have the opportunity of attending through your program, so allow yourself to experience these in a way that creates meaning for you as an individual.
Get Comfortable Being Alone While Abroad
This idea of being alone while abroad is also one that’s generally viewed pretty negatively as well. But it’s perfectly natural to not fit into the group you’ve come abroad with and doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. There’s nothing wrong with finding yourself on your own more often than not, and while it doesn’t feel great when you’re just a bit too poor to go out with the group for dinner or parties every night, ultimately it forces you to slow down and understand your position in your host city.
When you can’t go out and do the big group expenditures, rejoice in approaching where you’re at from a more intimate position. Going on walks and finding hidden gems of where you’re staying can be extremely rewarding. You start to understand local perspectives more than when in large groups and may even find yourself invited to an assortment of local community spaces and events. Don’t allow yourself to feel worried about missing out from what everyone else in your group is doing; foster environments for yourself in your host city that create meaning in the mundane aspects of the city you’re staying in.
Become Invested in Your Classes
Not having a lot of money, I understand it can seem as though all you begin to do is fall into a cycle of classes and then home. Don’t allow this mindset to alter how you’re enjoying your time abroad. You will meet people you never would have dreamt of knowing through your courses when abroad. Listen to what your classmates say, try and understand the views of others from outside your own social context. Becoming invested in your courses and what dialogues are being had within them will often lead to you beginning to feel even further in tune with your host country/city. By fostering an understanding of where you are you’ll create a deep appreciation for the less adventurous experiences you’re able to have.
Challenge yourself in the time you spend alone to try and understand the context of the people and places around you, view where you are not as a mystical destination but rather as a living place. Somewhere that has been called home by a plethora of people through time, that holds a very special history that’s ever evolving. Approach where you are not with a tourist mindset of what you can gain from being there. If you focus on this idea of what one gains through being in a new environment, then you won’t ever begin to notice the smaller aspects of where you are.
Final Thoughts
Open yourself up to notice and care for the tops of buildings, the bottoms of floors, to listen for the sounds of birds and buzzing of bugs. Take meaning in the smallest parts of your experiences while abroad, because those are the ones that will actually lead to those mythological internal changes we all heard everyone talking so much about. When you’re a low-income student abroad, it can be difficult to have to miss out on large group activities and the raunchier parts of social experiences in your host country, but don’t feel as though you’re ever doing anything “wrong” or not collecting enough experiences. There is nothing wrong with collecting mundane experiences to bring home with you. Every second of study abroad should not feel fundamentally life altering. Take your independence, your curiosity, and your newfound understandings of broader cultures and let those foster your future in seemingly small ways. Measure your growth not through how much you spent, but rather how much you’ve learned, seen, and heard. Only then can you truly have taken “full advantage” of your time abroad.