What Am I Doing Here?: Dealing with Any Immediate Shock & Stress Associated with Living Abroad

Posted by Suzanne Swartz Apr 17, 2009

Combine a long flight (or flights) with almost no sleep and a fear that you will miss a connecting flight or a train. Add in some major suitcase lugging, reading signs in another language, and not knowing where to go. And, oh yeah, there's the fact that you don't know...anyone. At all.

And that is when you ask yourself the question:

"What am I doing here?"

A few things to remember if you find yourself in this situation:

• You are embarking on an incredibly cool experience. Quit freaking out.
• At least lugging heavy suitcases through an airport terminal is good exercise. Sometimes.
• Even if you miss a train, there will be another one, and you will get to your destination eventually.
• Chances are you will meet new people very soon, be it at your new apartment or dorm, in a class, at your study abroad program office, or at your new job.

Don't know anybody in whichever new city you've stumbled into? Go for a walk and try smiling at a few people, even striking up a conversation with the person behind the counter in a cafe where you are grabbing a much needed, jet lag-fighting coffee.

It will do you a lot of good to sit down for a while after a long trip, in a place other than the bare room or apartment where you've left your luggage. Going for a walk in your new city (and getting yourself some caffeine) once you've dropped off all of your stuff is one of the best remedies for any feelings of apprehension after arriving in a new place.