As we gain ground in the spring semester, applications and announcements about study abroad programs are dancing in all of our inboxes. Whether you’ve dreamed of this since childhood or are just beginning to consider it now, here are four reasons why study away can be the right fit for you.
1. Learn more about yourself
How adventurous am I? How much time do I prefer to spend by myself or with others? If I had a day without anything scheduled, what would I do with myself?
These are some questions that naturally came up for me while I was studying away in Madrid. Depending on the program you choose, you will likely have more free time on your hands than you regularly do at Amherst, giving you the opportunity to discover more about yourself–your likes and dislikes and how you feel in certain environments.
2. Evaluate cultural norms from a more objective perspective
Studying outside the United States will force you to recognize differences in cultural norms between where you call home and where you’re studying.
One of the biggest cultural adjustments I had to make while I was away was my body clock schedule. The sun naturally rises and sets later in Spain, so everything tends to occur later in the day there. As someone who is more of a morning person, one of the biggest changes I had a difficult time with was eating dinner later. Spaniards wouldn’t eat dinner until around 9pm. Although this added a lot more time to one’s day and allowed you to get more things done, I would always end up a bit hangry by 7pm and would go to bed with an uncomfortably full stomach. 6:30pm dinners for me are here to stay.
Conversely, I gained a huge appreciation for Spanish cultural norms involving familial proximity, quality time, and prioritizing relaxation. Social connection is built into the foundation of the country, something incredibly different from the United States, where work and the individual are put above all else. This really made me realize how much I enjoy the company of others, and I am now more determined to foster these relationships back home.
Over time, you’ll more readily notice and evaluate norms where you’re studying and when you return to the United States. Having a more objective perspective will allow you to recognize what cultural aspects you value and how they impact your identity.
3. Different types of learning (outside the classroom)
By virtue of the sheer number of study abroad programs Amherst partners with, you may end up anywhere from spending all your time on a boat in Turks & Caicos or nestled in a study corner at Oxford. Every experience is different, which includes the workload you may be given and the form that it takes.
Beyond traditional classroom learning from week to week, the program I participated in took us on excursions around Spain to better understand the country’s history and culture. They also hosted cooking classes, a flamenco class, and a wine tasting. Beyond the program itself, however, I was constantly learning even just walking on the street. Cultural norms, different slang words, the way in which madrileños like to dress.
You may learn some neat new facts or read a fascinating book in one of your classes, but I found that the learning outside the classroom gave me a much broader understanding and respect for the city I was living in.
4. Comfort with discomfort
When you first arrived at college, for most I expect you felt exposed, nervous, and generally uncomfortable. You’re learning to live independently, make new friends as a young adult, and balance academics with a social life and extracurricular interests. There may have been some embarrassing moments too–not knowing what “the triangle” was, that it’s generally a bad idea to flirt with a floor mate, and saying you love Val food may get you some strange looks.
After your first fall semester, however, things start to settle down, and the cocoon of the Amherst bubble begins to envelop you. You have your friends, you know what professors you like and who to stay away from, and you can say hello to at least three people every time you walk from Val to the Science Center.
Studying abroad may break this bubble, but it will leave you with such a confidence to tackle the unfamiliar. If you choose to go alone, you’ll be tasked with making new friends–it’s like the start of college all over again. But this time, you know yourself so much better than you did at age 18, and many of those new connections will last beyond the months you spend together. You may enter some awkward interactions with locals due to a language or cultural barrier, but you’ll leave knowing how to gracefully navigate such future situations. You’ll develop a lot more empathy for expats who willingly or less willingly move to another country and have to face discomfort every day. You’ll have to grapple with how it feels to temporarily move thousands of miles away from loved ones, gaining a new understanding of how important those people are to you.
We often poke fun at those who say, “study abroad changed me.” I would challenge this and say it won’t change you, but it’ll help you meet parts of yourself you may not have been aware of and learn more about the aspects of yourself that you think you already know.
