studying abroad could be one of the most exciting phases in your life with the perfect opportunity to travel, meet new friends, and learn a new language. however, amongst many other things, moving to another country isn’t an easy transition. schooling is never easy, especially when you have to study in another country rather than your homeland. despite several valuable experiences, international students have to face several hardships when they first arrive in the new environment. in this post, i will discuss a few unavoidable problems from my experience, including cultural differences, language barriers, and together with many other difficulties.
every country has unique cultural traditions and standards. the most important thing is to respect and adapt to other cultures when moving to a foreign land. finding yourself in an entirely different culture with people speaking different languages, eating different food, socializing differently could be extremely challenging for several international students. i had a “bad" impression about those restrooms in the US. they use toilet paper instead of water tabs. well, it sounds more like a “me” problem, but i believe a few of you can relate. to resolve this problem, i always bring with me a plastic water bottle or wet tissue. anyway, let's move to something more appealing :) in terms of food, there are a bunch of differences between asian and western countries, particularly american. i find most of my asian friends always order asian food outside school as they are sick of bread, pasta, and salads. since i'm an easy eater, food differences are not a big deal to me. my problem is that the size is too big and american food is usually high in calories which makes me gain a few pounds :( i know this sounds more like a “me" problem but i'm sure that a few of you can relate. if so, be aware of what you eat and don't forget to exercise!
regarding language, i remember i was pretty confident with my english skills before coming to the US, but then i was shocked when i couldn’t catch every word from the locals. almost all of my friends in school speak very fast and use several unfamiliar slang words and idioms which somehow make me feel a sense of inferiority. i feel like my problem is that i had tried so hard to pronounce each word “perfectly” since i didn’t want to say any word wrong; therefore, i slow down my speed and focus more on my pronunciation. however, i jumped out of the frying pan to the fire. sometimes, i still pronounce a word that is completely different from everyone else around me which makes me want to disappear from this world. i often lose my confidence and become kind of shy to talk because i'm afraid that people will judge me on my fluency, pronunciation, or maybe accent, though i have studied english since elementary school. when it comes to the academic aspect, the language barrier is even more challenging. my peers and teachers use a lot of technical vocabulary which i have never heard before; it took me a few weeks to a month to fully understand them.
then, i realized that it is totally fine to make mistakes and learn from them. also, native speakers are usually open and sympathetic towards foreigners. some local students are even impressed by those international students’ english skills since they thought they could never be such a fluent bilingual like that. and so it turned out that they never judge me and are always willing to help me improve my english. whenever i pronounce the words wrong or use wrong grammar, they just smile at me (in a positive way though) and kindly fix my mistakes. at first, i felt a little bit weird and ashamed when someone caught my mistakes about pronunciation or grammar and i'm sure that you all feel the same too. but don’t be scared to make mistakes, just take advantage of it. the more you practice your words, the more comfortable and fluent you become with the language. therefore, the best solution to practice your english is to make new friends, especially with whom you can share common interests. communicating in english would help you become more confident and fulfill your english skills.
another pretty common problem is homesickness. staying away from your home could easily make you fall into homesickness, especially when you first arrive and you don't have many friends around with you. i felt homesick right after I moved into the dorm. i started missing my mom, my dad, my brother, and my friends, i started missing the vietnamese food, i start missing my pink princess bedroom, the dining table, and the couch where we usually have family time together. if you feel the same, don't panic. homesickness is just an expected natural feeling when you move to a new place. and once again the best way to overcome it is to try to make new friends. just go out and spend time with your friends, hang out and have fun with them. keep yourself busy and you would forget about homesickness. one thing that i usually do is learn other languages besides english. after overcoming this challenge, you will not want to leave your “second family”.
international students around the world might face the same struggles, but don’t worry friends, every struggle has its solutions. it might take a lot of time and effort to get familiar with a brand new environment. your friends, teachers, and other people around you will never let you down. all challenges may discourage and distract you from achieving your goals but all you need to do is to stay focused, believe in yourself, and tackle the situation wisely. you got this!