Hello readers!
Now that April is almost over, I have had a great amount of time to reflect upon my study abroad journey and observe the joys but also the challenges I have faced since I arrived in Copenhagen, and what I have learned from my experiences. Although study abroad seems like the most enjoyable experience through the lens of other peers, there are undeniably many adversities you face as a student and an individual living and studying in a new country. In my experience, one of the biggest challenges I have faced since starting my study abroad journey is adjusting to a completely new social environment. Personally, I am quite an introverted person. Back at the University of Pittsburgh, I have a very small circle of friends who I mainly hang out with, and am used to spending a good amount of my day alone doing homework or other hobbies. However, once I came abroad, I quickly saw that there was going to be an entirely new shift in my social life. From the day I arrived, I was constantly meeting new people and feeling as if I needed to make as many connections as possible with the people around me. In Copenhagen, I live on an apartment floor with 15 of my other peers who I share bathrooms and a kitchen with, and I also share a bedroom with 2 other people. This means that even in my own living space, I am constantly around people and needing to have enough energy to socialize. Additionally, because I came to study abroad knowing no other people in my program, I knew I needed to make friends and put myself out there in order to look back on a good experience later. At the start of the semester, this social situation was incredibly daunting and made me very anxious. However, as a couple months went by, I realized how well I had adapted to this new social environment and how much I loved it. Rather than feeling reluctant towards meeting new people and socializing so often, I actually began to anticipate it. I began to look forward to coming home from class and seeing people in our communal living spaces and having conversations with them. I learned ways to make time for myself in such a busy community by going on walks or bike rides which helped recharge my social battery. In my opinion, I definitely think this is a challenge any student studying abroad can face. It is very easy to get overwhelmed in a new place with completely new people, and it can be hard to be outgoing and extroverted at all times. However, I think that if you find ways to balance your time and remember the importance of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone- especially when you're abroad- anyone can adjust and make the best of a difficult situation.
Thank you for reading,
Kashvi Shah
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