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When you get accepted to your program
When you discover applying for your visa is a literal hell
When you first step off the plane in the country you'll call home for the next semester
Then you realize how far away from home you actually are
When you realize you actually have to attend classes
The way your host family never stops trying to feed you
Yet you still stash snacks in your room
When you finally figure out how to navigate the public transportation
But when you go anywhere in public, everyone is always staring
When you awkwardly stare at someone because you don't know what they just said
Or you just laugh and hope it wasn't a question
When you realize weekends mean traveling to new places
But then you get assigned a big project right after planning a trip
When the hostel doesn’t have the hot water as advertised
When you try to blend in
When you start trying all of the local foods
But you go to chains like McDonald's and KFC because you miss the "food back home"
Those nights your host family leaves you home alone
When none of your jeans fit anymore because driers don't seem to exist
And then you get sick of all the clothes you brought
The way you dance the first time you go out
The way you dance by the end of the semester
When you go home to your host family after going out
When you have an early flight/bus/train the morning after going out
When you get cat-called by the locals
Anytime you hear someone with an accent
When your friends make you go ask someone for directions
But then you master asking for directions
When your friends back home post pictures of them doing cool things without you
But then you remember how awesome life is abroad
The way you always feel tired
Because every day is like a new adventure
When you miss home, but then realize how awesome it actually is studying abroad
And when you finally get home, all of your stories begin with, “When I was in…”
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