7 Stages of Adaptation When You First Study Abroad

Now feeling happy and ready for adventures, you start meeting your new classmates and potential new friends. You find lots of people who are in the same boat as you and relate to them very easily – you all are international students and you all are so excited to be here! So let the student parties begin. This is usually the time called “Fresher’s Week”, and every day there’s some sort of an event or party, waiting for you to join. All in all that’s a great experience, but keep in mind that you will need your strength for the beginning of the semester, so do try to rest sometimes.

The student parties of Fresher’s Week come to an end, and the first semester begins. The first few days are absolutely incredible, since you start to realize that everything is so different, compared to back home, and you suddenly feel inspired and motivated to rule the world. You feel like you can achieve anything and that coming here was the best decision you ever made in your life.

This previous stage doesn’t last for long, unfortunately. Soon after, you start to realize that you need to do thousands of coursework assignments, essays and projects, and panic hits you. “Oh, God, how will I ever graduate?!” You go back to fear and desperation, and constantly feel that what’s being asked of you is simply too much. The worst thing that can happen here is that you become so scared you don’t even try to do the work, and you simply waste your time worrying. Don’t! When you eventually start trying, you will realize it is actually doable. And if you speak to some of your course mates and university advisors, you’ll discover that almost everyone goes through this stage.

After a while, you get a bit tired of all the student parties and the university coursework, and you start thinking about home again. Just when you thought you were done feeling homesick, it hits you once more! This time it’s not that hard, because you now have some friends nearby and you have settled a bit. However, you start feeling nostalgic about all sorts of things – from your mother’s cooking to the friendly neighbor’s dog you used to walk.  This stage too shall pass, but of course you will always miss home from time to time.

After you have gone through the homesickness and nostalgia for the second time, you realize that you have actually adapted to your new life as an international student without even noticing. You have made friends, you attend university and complete your studies, you start getting familiar with the place – the local shops, clubs and parks – and slowly but surely you start feeling at home. Because it’s true what they say, “home is where your heart is” – and your heart will feel cosier in this new environment by the day.