Hi all! My name is Sharlene Gandhi, and I am a second-year Marketing Management student, also pursuing a minor in French. I am in Cartmel College (although we admittedly spent more time in Grizedale Bar), and am currently spending my second year at Boston College in Massachusetts, in the States.

A lot of people have misconceptions about studying abroad; on one hand, some shun it, believing it to be nothing more than an extended holiday, whilst on the other hand, some find the prospect too daunting to even consider. In this introductory post, I hope to convince you that studying abroad is neither of the above. What most people forge, is that studying abroad also means living abroad, and effectively moving away from everything you find familiar for a semester or for a whole year. Parts of it will be exciting, and parts of it will be overwhelming, but the whole thing will be an experience that you’ll be glad to have engaged in.

My situation at Boston College is slightly different from other outgoing Lancaster students; I live off-campus in Boston, whilst most other outgoing Lancaster students live in on-campus accommodation at their host universities. At American universities, most, if not all, students living on campus will have a direct roommate, something which is considered very much to be part of the ‘college experience’ as well. However, as an off-campus student, I also miss out on this opportunity to interact and socialise with other Boston College students.

… Or so I thought when I first got to BC. I was so busy comparing myself and my experience to other people studying abroad that I forgot to actually enjoy what was put in front of me. Rather than trying to make my own experience as unique and memorable as possible, I was busy trying to turn my experience into something that resembled a ‘stereotypical’ study abroad experience. Even living off-campus, there are plenty of opportunities to meet people if you seek them out. For me, meeting new people meant that I missed home and Lancaster less as well.

I am aware of how clichéd this sounds, but getting involved with clubs and societies on campus can be life-changing. I met some of my best friends through societies at Lancaster, and so I jumped at the opportunity to get involved again at Boston College. What is great about studying abroad is that the societies at your home university will be so drastically different to the ones at your host university, and there will be so many new opportunities to grab. For example, at Boston College, and the U.S. in general, community service / volunteering plays a major role in university life, and there are therefore a myriad of opportunities on offer to volunteer on a local, national or international scale. I found a service trip to the Dominican Republic that sounded absolutely amazing, and ended up going on this wonderful journey with twenty-one other American students. Over the year, we not only bonded over countless lunches and dinners, but also over fundraising events and discussions about our lives, our families, our backgrounds and our hopes and dreams. Whilst it may seem somewhat extreme to share all that with people who are effectively strangers at the beginning, it definitely speeds up the process of bonding and pushes you outside your comfort zone in a way that makes you more confident and self-assured.

It’s okay to be lonely in your first few days abroad. You’re still getting accustomed to the mannerisms of a new country and culture, and may even be experiencing culture shock. You are outside your comfort zone already, so why not push yourself even further? Talk to the people sitting around you in your classes, talk to other international students, talk to students of your host university, and most importantly, keep talking to people back home and tell them how you are. Continuous reflection on your experiences will help you identify the highs and the lows, and hopefully will also highlight how to overcome potential pitfalls. A lot of my international friends keep blogs and journals, documenting their experience as exchange students. These really aid the process of reflection, as well as producing great memories to fondly look back on in a few years’ time.