I can’t believe I have already spent 2 weeks in Spain! The time moves so fast when you are constantly busy. Between acquainting myself with Oviedo, starting classes, day tripping to the local beaches in Gijón, visiting museums, a city scavenger hunt, a welcome from the mayor, group dinner, and seeing an old friend in Portugal over the weekend, life has been very busy. This week I want to talk about prioritizing mental health in study abroad.
I seriously made great friends immediately when I arrived in Spain. Spending all day for two weeks with a small group will do that. I am so grateful for how motivated my group members are to go out and make the most of our time together but, one thing I realized is that I still need to make time for myself. At times I feel like I am in a battle between “making the most” of my program, and getting time to relax. But, it is possible for you to choose both. In order to have the most fun during group activities and socialization, I learned that I won’t have fun if my social battery is drained. It is imperative to listen to your body and take time to decompress.
It is possible to make use of your time and relax. Resting does not necessarily mean a nap or scrolling on your phone in bed. For me, a huge lifestyle change when I came to Spain was a change in physical fitness. Typically I am on my feet for 8 hours at work and lift 5x a week. In Madrid, we were walking 8-10 miles everyday to see as much as we could, but in Oviedo, my step count has been much lower as I spend more time in the classroom. I was feeling sluggish when I realized working out was the stress reliever my body was missing. I felt guilty going, knowing that I will only be in Spain for a month and spending that time at the gym. But afterwards, I realized I was enjoying myself much more with the group because I took the time for myself. Plus, the university offers an outdoor workout facility if you still want to soak up the city views while you exercise.
If working out isn’t your thing, you can still be active and decompress. Another thing I like to do is walk around alone, listening to music through my headphones. There are multiple parks in the city, great rebajas (sales) in the shops, and plenty of free museums. I feel comfortable doing this in a city as safe as Oviedo (but obviously it is always important to stay aware of your surroundings). By doing this, I don’t feel like I am missing out on seeing Spain while still taking time for myself to relax.
Another thing that has been stressing me out during my travels is spending too much money. I am sure this is common among many college students studying abroad. One thing my friend said to me that really stuck was, money comes back. She is right, money comes back, but I will never again be nineteen studying abroad in Spain again. Especially, if I plan to go to med school, I will be occupied right out college for years and will not be able to travel like this for a long time. Obviously, I can’t go shopping every day and out to fancy dinners every night. But, if there is an experience to try, I should indulge. I have to remember that the reason I worked hard is to make the most of moments like this. In my mind, the real way to be “rich” is through experiencing life to the fullest, not having money. By making small habits of packing coffee and food for class instead of buying it, or using public transportation instead of Ubers or taxis, I have room for the bigger purchases–like crossing off kayaking the Bengagil caves from my bucket list this weekend. If my bank account suffers a little during the year it is okay because when else will I be spending a month devoted to learning the language and culture of Spain!
It is natural to feel stressed when put in a foreign country, with a language you haven’t fully learned, with classmates you don’t know, staying in someone else’s house. I think study abroad has an unrealistic expectation of being perfect 100% of the time, and if you hold study abroad (or anything really) to this standard, you will get let down. When going through such a huge lifestyle adjustment, don’t be upset with yourself for having a reaction to the change. Of course I am having an awesome time, but there are moments when I need to de-stress and take care of myself and that is perfectly okay too! To read more about student experience and mental health during study abroad, discover our mental health category of blogs!