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STUDY ABROAD EXPECTATIONS MAY INCLUDE: becoming fluent in the national language by the time you get back home, only speaking said language, becoming best friends with everyone on the trip, going out almost every night, constant traveling to other countries, unlimited experiences…

STUDYING ABROAD MAY ACTUALLY INCLUDE: being frustrated with how little you can communicate with your host family, always feeling like you aren’t improving your language skills, feeling lonely and knowing absolutely nobody, waking up tired due to lack of sleep, ATM fees and declined debit cards, loud neighbors and uncomfortable situations…

Before I traveled to Salamanca, Spain this past July to study abroad for a month, I tried to lower my expectations in order to ensure that I didn’t “force” things to happen. I tried to think about how, if I didn’t at least try to think positively, I wouldn’t have an experience as fulfilling as the one I ended up having. Even though the expectations I couldn’t avoid keeping were mostly broken, I ended up learning more about myself after my time abroad than I expected. Of course, this is not a unique feeling; I remember listening to my older cousin’s stories after being abroad in Bologna, Italy for a year and wanting to feel the same things she did. It wasn’t until later that I knew everyone’s experiences are to be unique and different and important in their own ways. It is definitely unrealistic to think that you are not going to have any expectations whatsoever during your time abroad, but make sure you are able to face the reality when it hits you. It will hit you, and if you are not prepared, it may not be pretty.

Even in college, I am showered with privileges I will not have while I am abroad. My parents aren’t a 2-hour drive away, I’m not living with my best friends anymore, I can’t go grocery shopping at the Big Y, and I can’t drive my car. I experienced these things while in Salamanca, too. However, I feel as if I have an advantage now before going to Chile because I have been in an unfamiliar environment before and have had to adapt immensely in such a short amount of time. It will undoubtedly be more difficult to be somewhere new for four months without any other UMass students close to me, but I will be forced to learn how to make a home. I have taught myself to remember that I can’t expect everything to be easy and simple. I will need to learn how to use a new transportation system, navigate new streets and a new school, and get along with both American and local students. I am not easily able to speak to strangers, so I also expect to step out of my comfort zone quite often. It makes me nervous to be going somewhere in which I will need to create my own support system instead of letting mine from home follow me. Still, I intend to keep my eyes forward toward the future projects I will be working on in Chile, the new and exciting places I will travel to, and the subsequent friends I will make and be connected with forever.

Using Salamanca as an example, I sometimes tend to isolate myself if I don’t feel “welcome” somewhere or amongst a group of people. I didn’t think I wasn’t “welcome” in my host family’s home or in the UMass group, but I definitely felt really alone and like I wasn’t trying hard enough to make friends. Everyone seemed to be getting along so well, and I felt like I wasn’t “nice” enough to immediately make friends. My issue ended up being that I usually expect others to create a welcoming environment for me instead of doing it myself. I have had this problem since I was younger, and I attempt every day to break it down. I learned through some of my Salamanca experiences that if I really wanted to create a welcoming environment for myself, I needed to be a welcoming and open person. I am not that outgoing, and I certainly consider myself to be an introvert, but I had some of the best experiences talking to people I had never met before on the streets of Salamanca. I opened myself up and removed the expectation that the experience would always come to me instead of requiring me to search for it myself. In the end, this ended up being a really rewarding realization and also ended up improving my conversational Spanish (which was one of my large goals for the trip)

My general expectations are high for my next semester in Santiago, Chile, even if I just preached about not keeping too many. I had a great experience in Salamanca. Even while I missed all of the people I loved most, I knew that my Spanish was improving, I was creating lifelong connections with the other students at the university, and I came home with my own set of stories to share with my family, including my cousin. My expectations are high, but I hope the reality is better.

If you’re considering studying abroad but can’t go during the Fall or Spring, consider going to Salamanca, Spain in the summer for a month! You can get up to 9 credits for class and is perfect especially if you can’t afford/don’t have time for a whole semester abroad. You can ask me questions about it if you are interested :) bbogan@umass.edu