The Mental Impact of Studying Abroad

Have you ever wanted to travel the world? Well, it has always been my dream as a kid.

My mother used to work at JFK when I was a kid. Her job included free plane tickets, and we traveled all around the states. That's when  my obsession started. I always knew that I wanted to study abroad for college whether it was for a semester or a month. Now, I am a senior at Hunter College. It has been almost a month since I came back from my 1 month study abroad in Berlin, Germany, where I  studied the German language in a university.

In this informal essay, I will talk about how this trip has made me grow as a person mentally and psychologically and what students can expect. Of course, everyone’s experience is different but here I am to share mine. I want to begin by talking about how excited I was for my upcoming trip.  When I first arrived in Berlin, I was severely jetlagged to the point where on my 2nd day, I fell asleep in the cafeteria for hours. It was my first time going to Europe and there was a 6 hour time difference although I did some research before I got there. One thing I'll advise is research about a country's culture, and expectations is crucial since you are very likely to be culturally shocked no matter how much research was done. Everything was different compared to NYC but I was very distracted by my excitement of experiencing new things for a change. Fast forward a few days, I started taking my German language class. No one could have prepared me for what I was going to go through in the next few weeks. My entire class was taught 3 times a week, from 9am to 3pm in only German. It was a shocking change and it played a huge role in my mental health. On those days, I would travel to school which was difficult financially because a monthly ticket had cost $110. There was also a huge difference in the cafeteria food. Due to the challenges of advancing in the German language, I unfortunately did not pass my final exam and got a C in the class overall.

I was under a lot of stress, since I was only taught German in English at Hunter College. I had an amazing professor who was always interactive and engaged the class in many fun activities and trips. but every time I attended class, I felt like I was behind and would feel extremely burnt out while it seemed like everyone else understood the material in class. Needless to say I did not do so well in that class.In that moment I felt like I came all the way to Germany for nothing. But with the support of friends, I realized that it was just another learning experience and I still got to partake in an amazing opportunity. 

I had my expectations high when I was studying abroad. I learned very quickly that it was better to be more realistic. I spent the majority of the trip alone since there was a language barrier between the locals, and I. There was a language barrier between the locals and I. I spoke some German but I knew it was pretty easy to tell that I was a tourist. It was hard connecting with new people because things like relationships and experiencing felt temporary which took a toll on my mental health. I started to feel homesick and missed all of the people I left behind at home. This made me a little less inclined to go outside and explore new places because I know I would be by myself as usual. 1 month is not enough to solidify social connections. 

To add on to this, I caught Covid just a week and a half before I left. I got fined a 60 euro ticket for accidentally riding in the wrong tariff zone in Berlin. I got caught in a thunderstorm and soaked on my last day. At the same time, I was juggling my online internship from the psychology department at Hunter. I had the support of my family and friends to get through all of this. I compensated by getting a tattoo. (shows tattoo) This butterfly tattoo represents the many challenges that I overcame living on my own in a foreign country. It was a very transformative experience and I believe it has turned me into a better person with a new outlook in life. It has solidified my dream of wanting to travel the world and taught me new skills in independence, responsibility, self compassion and resilience. Over the course of the month, I gott to visit a few cities such as, Leipzig, Potsdam, and Dresden. On these long train rides I did reflect on the type of person this trip was making me become. 

Overall this trip made me realize that I am a very resilient person and able to adapt to my surroundings. I faced and overcame many challenges I did not expect to meet and it made me better at handling the stress. Despite all of the questionable experiences I've encountered, I kept moving forward and accepted that not everything goes as planned and that this is an experience that I can look back on and laugh at. I've gained a new found perspective after having a taste of what my dream could look like. It only solidified my hopes of being able to experience new countries and their cultures. This trip has made me feel closer to my loved ones despite the distance and made me appreciate myself and this culture. I hope that one day I can inspire other college students to step outside of their comfort zone and make their college years something to remember.