10 things I learned on my Year Abroad

Hi, everyone – I hope you’re all doing well! In the introduction to my last post, I focused a lot on the future: on my impending final year of university, and on what I was dreading and/or looking forward to in the coming months. I am now, however, in the mood for a bit of retrospection. As some of you will know, from reading other articles of mine, I’ve just recently come to the end of my Year Abroad. I have written all about the places I visited during this time, the jobs I did, and the things I packed, but I have never spoken about the many things that this period of my life taught me. Today, then, I thought I would do just that, so get comfy, grab some snacks, and keep reading to discover ten things I learned on my Year Abroad.

It’s OK to be scared

If you’re going on a Year Abroad, yourself, any time soon, chances are that this will be the first time you’ve lived alone in a foreign country. Exciting as this prospect may be, it’s also quite terrifying: after all, dealing with bills and insurance is tricky enough without the added of difficulty of having to get to grips with a whole new system. You’ll find that you pick things up pretty quickly when you’re thrown in the deep end, but it is still OK to have apprehensions before you take the plunge.

It’s also OK to be scared while you’re away. I had to check the broom cupboard in my flat every evening, just to make sure that no intruders were hiding in it, and you may well find that you develop little compulsions like this, too. In addition, I didn’t always feel totally comfortable walking home in the dark, especially as – in Biarritz, anyway – there was no one to greet me when I arrived. As time went on, my fears diminished, but before that, I never once berated myself for having them. And neither should you.

It’s OK to spend time alone

There’s a lot of pressure, when you move to a new place, to mingle with the locals, and build a whole new group of friends. However, spending a lot of time with people you don’t know very well can be pretty overwhelming – especially if, like me, you’re quite shy and introverted – so it’s OK to take a step back sometimes, and just enjoy your own company. Being alone doesn’t have to mean being lonely, and it’s often during this downtime that you’ll actually learn the most about yourself.

The friends you do make don’t have to be your age

Most of the friends I made on my year abroad were roughly my age, and I really enjoyed getting to know people from across the world who were at the same stage of life as me, but whose beliefs and ambitions were totally different from my own. However, perhaps the greatest thing I realised about friendship this year was that I could actually get on with people who were quite a bit older than me.

I spent a lot of time with thirty-year-olds, forty-year-olds, and even a few fifty-year-olds, all of whom had a lot more in common with me than I’d ever have expected. Chatting with these people gave me a whole new perspective on life, and I learned a great deal from some of them. Keep an open mind when expanding your social circles: when it comes to friendships, age really is just a number!

You can have more than one family

You don’t have to be coetaneous to be friends, and you don’t have to be blood to be family! During my Year Abroad, I spent three months living with a host family, and by the end of my stay, I really felt as if they were my long-lost relatives. Of course, they could never compete with my loved ones back home, but they will certainly always have a special place in my heart. For advice on living with a host family, check out this article, which I wrote just after bidding farewell to these lovely people.

Size isn’t everything

Don’t worry: I’m referring to the size of towns and cities here, not anything else…! If you’ve read the article I wrote about my time living in Rovato, you’ll know that I – a city person through and through – had my apprehensions about moving to a tiny commune, seemingly located in the middle of nowhere. Well, friends, it turns out that a town is only as small as you make it. The more you get to know the people living there, the more opportunities will open up to you, and the more events you’ll find yourself adding to your diary.

Teaching is one of the hardest, but most rewarding, jobs out there

The idea of teaching is not one that’s ever hugely appealed to me, but for one reason or another, I ended up doing a traineeship in a primary school for three months during my Year Abroad. (Read more about that here!) I can’t say that I’m any more likely now to go into this profession, but I am very grateful for the experience, and for what it taught me.

Teaching is a really hard job, and you have no idea how true this is until you actually try it. Not only do you have to spend a great deal of time planning before each lesson, but also, when you’re actually in the classroom, you’ve got to keep your students engaged and earn their respect. And let me tell you: when there are twenty or more of them, that’s a lot easier said than done! At the same time, though, teaching is extremely rewarding. Each day I was greeted with hugs, smiles, and high fives, and as the weeks rolled on, I really started to see the classes making progress, and my hard work paying off.

Learning a language means stepping out of your comfort zone

One of the main reasons I went on my Year Abroad was to improve my oral command of French and Italian. However, since I’m a pretty timid person, it took me quite a while to accept that in order to get better at speaking these languages, I was going to have to step out my comfort zone. The majority of my time in France was spent socialising with English speakers – or French people who preferred to communicate with me in my mother tongue – and I really wish I’d branched out a bit more, or, at the very least, participated in a few language exchanges.

Luckily, my stay in Italy was a lot more successful: not only did I live and work with native speakers, but also I made much more of an effort to engage in conversation with people I met out and about. The result? My Italian improved dramatically, and as a result, I became a lot more willing to keep practising it.

Time spent in nature is good for the soul

During my Year Abroad, I was introduced to the idea of ‘grounding’. (If you’re not familiar with this term, check out the following video for more information. ) I’m not sure I totally buy the theory, but I do definitely agree that spending time in nature – especially without shoes on – can do wonders for the body and mind. Whenever I was having a bad day, I’d always force myself to go outside, either for a scenic walk, or for a dip in the sea. I can’t remember a single time that this didn’t lift my mood enormously. (P. S. Yes: those footprints are mine!)

Budgeting is important

It can be tempting, when your student loan or Erasmus grant comes through, to go out and have a huge shopping spree, but if you’re paying rent – or even just buying your own groceries – you’ve got to learn to be sensible with your money. Use spreadsheets to keep track of your monthly spending, and see if there are areas where you can cut back a bit. You may love getting breakfast from your local boulangerie each morning, for example, but even small purchases like this will quickly add up.

Money comes back around; opportunities don’t

Having said that, there is definitely a fine line between being careful with your money, and being stingy. Over the course of your Year Abroad, you’ll have all sorts of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities thrown at you, and unless you’re struggling financially, it’s really important to seize these, and not let your parsimony get in the way. Spending money on experiences is so much more fulfilling than purchasing material items, and I promise you that every penny lost in the process will be a memory gained.

To be continued…

So there we have it: ten things I learned on my Year Abroad! Coming up with this list has only made me realise that I have a whole lot more to say, but if there’s one thing my teaching traineeship taught me, it’s that most people can’t concentrate on the same thing for a very long time. As a result, I’m going to end this article here, and publish ten more of my recently-acquired pearls of wisdom tomorrow. Thank you so much for reading, and stay tuned for part two!

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