It’s been 89 days since I’ve stepped foot on U.S. soil, and it will be another 55 until I return. During the last 89 days, I’ve spoken a lot of French, spent boat loads of money, explored all over Paris and enjoyed every second of it. Throughout those 89 days, I’ve also been following the study abroad experiences of some friends and acquaintances.
First off, let me say that it looks like everyone is having a fantastic time, so if you’re deliberating about studying abroad – just do it. If you’re not thinking about it, then I suggest you reconsider. But as much as I keep telling myself not to compare my time abroad to other people's, I can’t seem to help it. Allow me to explain.
I see pictures of my fellow study-abroaders whooping it up at American-style bars, traveling to different countries each weekend and, in some cases, hanging out with friends from home who are also abroad. I, on the other hand, have been spending my time visiting Parisian cemeteries, having philosophic and political discussions with my sixty-something-year-old landlady and reading a 500+ page book entirely in French. But like I said, let’s try not to compare.
First off, let me say that it looks like everyone is having a fantastic time, so if you’re deliberating about studying abroad – just do it. If you’re not thinking about it, then I suggest you reconsider. But as much as I keep telling myself not to compare my time abroad to other people's, I can’t seem to help it. Allow me to explain.
I see pictures of my fellow study-abroaders whooping it up at American-style bars, traveling to different countries each weekend and, in some cases, hanging out with friends from home who are also abroad. I, on the other hand, have been spending my time visiting Parisian cemeteries, having philosophic and political discussions with my sixty-something-year-old landlady and reading a 500+ page book entirely in French. But like I said, let’s try not to compare.
The truth is, I couldn’t be happier with how I’m spending my time abroad. I’m doing what I came here to do: become fluent in French, and each day I’m getting closer to realizing that goal. And I didn't come to France just to study abroad in Paris, but rather, to live here. So many of my associate expatriates seem to be living like tourists, while I’m living what feels like a normal life with a weekly routine. I eat lunch in the Luxembourg Gardens every Monday and Wednesday, grocery shop each Friday and put forth a diligent effort toward my homework most weeknights (again, trying to become fluent here, folks).
Now I'm not saying these study abroad models are the only two that exist, nor that one is more correct than the other. In fact, I would argue they are equally correct. If there's one thing that this unavoidable need to compare has taught me, it's that it is pointless. Why waste your limited time in a foreign country thinking about what you could or should be doing? What about simply enjoying what you are doing? Most people only get one chance at studying abroad, but luckily there is no wrong or right way to do so.
Now I'm not saying these study abroad models are the only two that exist, nor that one is more correct than the other. In fact, I would argue they are equally correct. If there's one thing that this unavoidable need to compare has taught me, it's that it is pointless. Why waste your limited time in a foreign country thinking about what you could or should be doing? What about simply enjoying what you are doing? Most people only get one chance at studying abroad, but luckily there is no wrong or right way to do so.