5 things that Study Abroad teaches you

1. Travelling Alone Internationally

This may not seem like a big deal or an important lesson at first but this actually taught me a great deal. Travelling internationally alone especially for someone who never cared about where his passport was or whether he had a visa or not because all of this was taken care of by his parents. The first time I travelled to college, I realised the amount of stress and responsibility that was on me now. I had to make sure my passport was on me at all times, I had all of my paperwork and documentation in place and that I was paying attention to the announcements and not dozing off. One of the biggest challenges in travelling alone that no one talks about, is going to the bathroom, especially when you have a carryon or a suitcase with you. What do you do with it? You can’t leave it unattended outside. So you very awkwardly take it into the bathroom with you with some weird stares coming your way while your suitcase enters the toilet stall with you

2. Making decisions

One of the most important skills you develop in college is making decisions. When you have to decide whether to go out and play football with your friends or work on your final project and it is 2am in India so you can’t call your mom and let her tell you what to do- is when you start making tough calls. You begin making your own choices initially because you dont have a choice but very soon you learn to decide for yourself and that is a great confidence booster. You make many mistakes but you learn to deal with the consequences as well

3. Training your taste buds to lower their standards

It is when you first try dining hall food that you understand what disappointment tastes like. You go into these huge dining halls with a large variety of seemingly exciting food yet it lacks something- flavour. Spiced with an exquisite blend of salt and pepper, the pizzas, burgers and pastas which initially seem exciting become tiring and annoying very quickly. This is when you start really valuing the flavour of Dal Chawal. One thing which really helps is Maggi and microwavable food. The microwave soon became my most beloved belonging and the mediocre microwavable food became my lovely escape from the flavourless kitchens of the dining hall

4. Finding things that make you happy

When you are out of your comfort zone, it becomes important to find things which give you some comfort. While facing new and scary situations every day, you need those few things which give you happiness and a sense of calm. Whether that is going on walks, watching the latest season of Love is Blind, or going to the gym. You have to find hobbies and things that keep you entertained because trust me, even though people say college is very hectic and busy, there is a lot of free time as well

5. Understanding Money (Very quickly)

Studying abroad made me extremely Kanjoos (and I am already a Gujarati so that’s saying something). When I had my own bank account and saw the balance dropping every time I got a milkshake or a coffee, the value of money hit me. I even took up a job in college as a Teaching Assistant and for the first time in my life earned some money which gave me the spirit to spend more but also realized how quickly and easily Amazon benefitted from my paycheck. At the same time, you must also realize that it is ok to spend money. You shouldn’t become such a ‘makhhichoos’ that it starts affecting your mental health and your happiness. Spend sensibly and well on the things that make you happy