14 problems to overcome during your year abroad

The struggle is real

There are obviously many other obstacles you’ll have to overcome during the year, these were just some I thought were particularly common, well were for me anyway. It’s not to say that there aren’t loads of good things about going abroad either, but reading those things is far less enjoyable than laughing at my inability to get the right bus, no?

Realising what you're actually doing

It hits you like a truck. You’re going away for months, maybe even a year, and you don’t know anyone or anything about where you’re going. You might be able to speak the language, yeah, but nothing can prepare you for being thrown in at the deep end.

Saying goodbye

Goodbyes are never easy, especially when your mum has burst into tears even before you’ve put the suitcase in the car. They might annoy you most of the time, but it’s hard not to miss your family. Whether you actually enjoy being around them or just like having your washing done for you, this is always a difficult goodbye.

The first night

You might be an absolute hero and have already made friends through Facebook and other groups. But for most of us, it’s pretty likely that you’re first night in your new surroundings consists of trying to get an early night and binging on whatever snack food you’ve managed to find. I can comfortably say that the image above is pretty much exactly how I spent my first night in Brazil, just with less wine, more blackcurrant. I’m not a bloody maniac.

Your first conversation in the language

Well, conversation is perhaps a generous term.

The second

Yeah, you still have no idea what anyone is saying.

Third time lucky?

Not worth it, I give up.

As I said, you may already speak the language, but speaking to natives, especially understanding them, is much harder than your average listening exam. Google translate or repeating the same 5 second clip 10 times over won’t help you here. And although the likes of globalisation, environment change and social networks are more often than not the topic of conversation in a university seminar, when you’re actually there in the foreign country, it’s less free markets, Facebook organised protests and global warming.

Trying to find you way around

No matter how much you shell out to use 3G and google maps when walking around, it will take you a good few weeks to get your bearings. You’ll probably never actually be able to give directions but you’ll eventually know where you’re going just by aimlessly walking around. There were so many times were a 5 minute walk to the shop could take up to 25 minutes… getting lost is part of the fun, isn’t it?

Taming the beast that is public transport

You may be king of the London Underground or the grandmaster of bus timetables, but all of that knowledge you’ve acquired over the years is useless now. You’re in a new city, with new bus routes and a different metro system. Figuring out what goes where, and when it does so, will be one of the greatest challenges you face during your time. Do not let it defeat you. If it takes you getting off at seven different stops to find out which one is closest to where you live, then do so (yes, this did happen).

'Having a go' at something new

You’re embracing the culture, exploring the city, making friends, speaking the language. You’re also trying loads of new things, most of which you like, so much so that you decide to make it yourself. Then this happens. Not only are you unlikely to have the finest kitchen utensils at you’re disposal, but a working oven is also a luxury in most cases. Microwaves are dangerous things and if you like the local food so much, don’t buy the ingredients and whack them in for 30 minutes and hope, go out to where you tried it in the first place, and eat there instead. After all, going out to eat is much cheaper (and less stressful) than dealing with an exploding kitchen appliance.

Completely underestimating the weather...

If you're going to Murcia in March, don't bring 4 differing coats...

Or completely overestimating it

This is very much based on personal experience. Make sure you do you research before you leave... extensive research. I went to Brazil at the start of this year, and as it was Brazil I didn’t really pack a substantial jumper of any sort. Brazil is always hot, right? They have loads of beaches, right? Well during winter in the southern part of the country, ‘chilly round the willy’ doesn't quite do it justice. I remember one night in particular where I was in fact boasting six layers (although not six jumpers as the image suggests. As I said... I didn’t pack any).

"Sorry, Netflix hasn't arrived in this part of the world yet"

Yes there will be loads of things to do, loads of parties to go to, etc. But anyone who thinks you’ll be doing that every night, or even if you could, it would probably be a bit mental. There are obviously going to be nights where you don’t want to do anything other than binge watch 20 episodes of the latest Netflix original, only to find that it hasn’t arrived yet. This will be one of the biggest culture shocks but there are ways to get round it.

HMA is a great solution, but if you don’t fancy forking out a bit of money for the privilege, then you can always risk the more I’m-going-to-get-5000-viruses-from-this-site streaming websites.

Saying goodbye 2. 0

After months of persevering, trying harder than ever to make friends, you finally find a group of people from all over the world that you get along with. You've had the bestest ever time with them and now it all comes to an end. What makes it harder is the stark reality that you're probably never going to see them again and you start to question whether making friends in the first place was even worth it. It is of course, but that in itself makes it even harder to say another heartfelt farewell.

Getting back to England

Going back to England and hearing English rather than *insert language you learnt* was a surreal experience. Although you will obviously understand everything perfectly, swapping back to your native tongue after so long rarely using it will be much stranger than you think. Also, the little things you picked up abroad might start to creep their way into your native language. As you can imagine, saying ‘ei cara, tudo bom? ’ when you really meant to say ‘alright mate? ’ is not only confusing for the desired recipient but also makes you look slightly strange.

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