The 7 Types Of People You Meet During Your Semester Abroad

Cause traveling the world is a lot more interesting with some new friends by your side!

1. The Guy Who Quit His Job to Travel the World

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We'll call this guy Phil. You most likely met your Phil at a hostel or maybe you were sharing an airbnb. Phil is really interesting to talk to. He has lots of crazy stories and isn't quiet sure where he's going next. Phil will most likely tell you that he woke up one day and just decided he needed a change. You'll ask Phil where he's getting the money to travel and he'll kind of give you a vague answer. Unfortunately, you won't get to know Phil for too long, as he's off to his next location in the morning, but you'll be sure to travel stalk his adventures on Facebook. Signature line: "I don't know man, I'm just going where the wind takes me."

2. The Other Native English Speaker

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We'll call this girl Martha. While standing at a bar in an unfamiliar new city, you overhear a group of girls speaking English. You think to yourself, "Woohoo!! People I can communicate with!" and decide to strike up a conversation. Martha's nice, and you bond over your shared language, but that's pretty much it. You promise each other you'll keep in touch but have no plans on following through. Signature line: "Omg now way! I have a second cousin twice removed who lives in Cleveland!"

3. The Guy Who's Teaching English

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We'll call this guy Kevin. It feels as if every other guy you meet in your host city is a Kevin. If you make a friend that's 22-30 and from the US, the UK, or Australia, odds are he's either a study abroad student or a Kevin. A Kevin will usually tell you that he wasn't quite ready to start working in the real world just yet, but that he didn't want to just take a year off. Kevin will have lots of great stories for you from the classes he teaches and will probably end up being someone you hang out with in addition to your classmates. Kevin will usually have lots of other English speaking friends, so Kevin is definitely worth keeping around! Signature line: "Yea, I just needed some time to clear my head."

4. The Cool Local

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We'll call our local Gina. You loooove hanging out with Gina! Not only does she help you improve your language skills, she also taught you all the curse words in the native language and takes you to the coolest bars. Gina also has lots of friends that you so get along with. Gina's like the cool older sister you never had. She gets you into clubs for free and invites you to house parties. You're going to be sad to leave your Gina when the time comes to return home! Signature line: " Twelve o'clock at Joy, we're only speaking Spanglish tonight!"

5. The Local Hottie

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We'll call him Carlos. You probably met Carlos in a club, or maybe in bar. (But probably a club.) He swept you off your feet with his broken English and fetchingly good looks and you were convinced he was going to be your steamy semester romance. However, after going out with Carlos during daylight hours, you realized that he's not as cute as your remember and that the language barrier is real. Funny how that didn't seem to matter so much on the dance floor. Signature line: "Creo que you are super guay."

6. The Instant BFF

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Her name's Jane. You met her at your hostel and just totally hit it off. You probably spent the next day doing everything together and can't believe that you only just met a few hours ago. Jane just gets you, and you totally intend on taking her up on her offer to visit her in her host country (for real though, this isn't like a Martha.) Signature line: "NO WAY ME TOO!"

7. The American Frat Boy

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We'll call him Jake. Like his fellow fraternity brothers, Jake came here to "PARTAY". He has zero interest in learning the local customs and traditions unless those customs and/or traditions contain alcohol. Jake goes out pretty much every night and can't speak a word in the local language. But that's okay because he's usually traveling to some far off country every weekend where he can go and drink the same exact liquor he'd be drinking in his host country. Jake can be easily identified by his backwards baseball cap and salmon colored shorts. Signature line: "Bro, who's ready to turn up at our airbnb mansion this weekend!?"