When you are abroad, there will be this moment where you sit back and say “Whoa, I moved across the world.” For me, that moment came one morning as I drank a cup of tea on my balcony. Whether your move is for six weeks, four months, or a year — it is important to reflect on the arduous work that got you where you are now.
But soon you will have seen all the tourist sites and begin to build a routine of your own. If you are anything like me, you may have a ‘What now?’ moment. That is where I come in; here are two tips I have for immersing yourself in the cultural fabric of your host country.
Tip one: Take a lot of long walks
One thing I always do when traveling to a new place is take long walks around the neighborhood. I recommend bringing a partner and practicing caution when alone. During my first few weeks in Rome, walking around allowed me to familiarize myself with my home for the next four months. It was by walking that I found out that I lived close to a lovely open-air market. I was able to scope out pharmacies, restaurants, metro stops, etc. Taking walks around Rome made me more comfortable and confident navigating daily.
As you build confidence traveling, feel free to deviate from the path Google recommends. I live 30 minutes from my internship and had to walk due to a strike. On my way to and from work, I found laundromats, camera shops, movie theaters, and opera houses. I traveled past these things for a month because I always followed Google’s recommendation and took the metro. Taking long walks allows you to begin navigating the city like a native. In no time, you will feel comfortable navigating with less reliance on Maps or outside sources. For me, these walks helped me familiarize myself with Rome, and it mitigated that disconnected feeling that I had towards the city during my first few weeks here.
Tip two: Find your third place
If when you get to your host country, you feel disconnected and confused do not worry, it will pass. However, when you are in a non-English-speaking country, this feeling may feel a bit more insurmountable. One way I tackled this feeling of disconnect from Roman culture was by finding my third place. This is a place that is not your campus, not your internship, but a place where you feel comfortable participating in your host countries’ customs. For me, I go to a coffee shop near campus because the staff helps me with my Italian skills. While the deli I go to makes it a point to teach me all the best meat and cheese pairings. Finding these places for yourself allows you to begin to build a new identity that embraces the culture that you are surrounded by. Having these places for myself empowered me to feel more confident in my speaking skills and to do everyday things independently, with more ease than when I arrived. When you find a third place, you are building relationships within the community that you are in; this is one of the easiest ways to fight that confusion and feeling of disconnect that you may feel when you move abroad.
Studying abroad can be nerve racking-especially if it is your first time traveling alone. However, I hope these tips enable you to tackle the experience head-on. Be patient with yourself as you begin your journey in a new country because there are many learning curves to get through. However, if you take them in stride, you will feel more connected and at home in your host country than ever before. If these tips got you ready to being your study abroad journey head over to Education Abroad to browse Temple’s study abroad programs.