{"id":2444,"date":"2016-11-02T10:36:16","date_gmt":"2016-11-02T16:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.cuchicago.edu\/spectator\/?p=2444"},"modified":"2016-11-02T10:36:16","modified_gmt":"2016-11-02T16:36:16","slug":"my-adventures-abroad-part-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/?p=2444","title":{"rendered":"My Adventures Abroad (part 7)"},"content":{"rendered":"

5\u00a0things that people who study abroad DON’T<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0tell you…\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. it is OKAY<\/span> to cry…\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes life can bring many challenges, especially ones that make you want to break down and cry. Recently, I had some unfortunate events that led me into uncontrollable tears. Looking back at the situation now, I realize how ridiculous I must have looked as I was standing there uncontrollably, but I also realize that I needed to let those tears out in order to be happy again. Of course you want your travel abroad experience to go smoothly and to always have a smile on your face, but that is not realistic. If there are no wrong turns during your adventure, how will you ever learn? Crying is a natural process that we all go through, even in our adulthood. So just remember, it is okay to cry; in fact, it is very healthy to cry! So do not feel embarrassed if things are going wrong and you are having a tough day and you end up crying. But also remember to stay positive and know that things will work out in the end.<\/p>\n

2. it is OKAY<\/span> to feel homesick\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have been away from home for a little over a month now and I have felt homesick on more than one occasion. I am really close to my family and it does not help that they are on a cruise so I am not able to contact them as much as I am used to. It gets hard sometimes when you are not surrounded by familiar people, food, and language. in fact, at times you will find yourself saying\u00a0“did I make the right choice?” Especially when you had a rough day at school, and or work. But other days the sun will seem to shine a little brighter, and the people will seem a bit friendlier and you realize that you can, in fact, do this!<\/p>\n

3. it is OKAY<\/span> to do things by yourself\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many people would assume that it is scary or not safe to do things by themselves, but they would be wrong. Of course you have to be aware of your surroundings and be smart about your decisions, but all in all, there is nothing wrong with doing things by yourself. In fact, I would highly encourage it. It is fun when you are with people, but it is also fun to explore by yourself. You may see things that you would have never seen before or an area in which your friends may not want to travel when you do! So in general make sure that you do things by yourself! You will feel adult like, and it is an exhilarating feeling.<\/p>\n

4. it is OKAY<\/span> to be scared\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Being scared is NOT a bad thing. It is actually just you being hyper aware in an unfamiliar setting. When you are walking home alone at night make sure that you tell someone so they can be aware and know to contact you if anything happens. Walk a little faster in dark neighborhoods. Do not draw attention to yourself if you do not want to be bothered by strangers. Hold your purse tight and make sure it is not hanging to the side closest to the street. Just remember in order to be safe you have to be smart.<\/p>\n

5. you are not FOUND<\/span> until you are LOST<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

You truly aren’t in awe of the city that you are living in until you know its ins and outs. When you are walking just to walk that is when you truly get to experience the life you now live. It is amazing what you can discover when you are just walking around. You find new areas that you would like to spend more time in, you find friendly people who are very welcoming and will want you to visit again, and most importantly, you will truly find the heart of the culture. The people, the unique shops, the markets, you name it and you can find it. And once you find it, you will even find a little piece of yourself. So my advice would be to get out and get lost (but make sure you have gps just in case).<\/p>\n

-H<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

5\u00a0things that people who study abroad DON’T\u00a0\u00a0tell you…\u00a0   1. it is OKAY to cry…\u00a0 Sometimes life can bring many challenges, especially ones that make you want to break down and cry. Recently, I had some unfortunate events that led me into uncontrollable tears. Looking back at the situation now, I realize how ridiculous I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":2445,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-life-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}