{"id":5580,"date":"2022-11-16T18:44:54","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T23:44:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/travelwriting\/?page_id=5580"},"modified":"2022-11-17T12:54:48","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T17:54:48","slug":"living-overseas-changes-individuals-return-to-normal-life-can-be-a-challenge","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/travelwriting\/?page_id=5580","title":{"rendered":"Living overseas changes individuals; return to ‘normal’ life can be a challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Posted November 17, 2022<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By ALEXANDRIA SHARIFI<\/p>\n\n\n\n

College students who studied abroad in London, Florence and Prague have drastically unique experiences and yet all share the same underlying knowledge: travel changes you.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Prague’s Wenceslas Square in the New Town part of the city (Staff photos).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Experiences seem to constantly change the way people feel about themselves and their lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spending extended periods of time away from “normal life” can alter the definition of “normal” altogether. How would it feel to go back to a life you\u2019ve outgrown?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat once made me happy and comfortable doesn\u2019t make me feel happy and comfortable anymore,\u201d said Chelsey Jacobs, UM senior, reflecting on the transition back to her life in Miami after living abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaving Italian piazzas to come back to Miami skyscrapers is a tremendous adjustment, but what makes students feel disconnected from their old lives after living in Europe?<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Prague Castle and the Vltava River are popular attractions for college students studying in Europe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cYou meet people who come from places where their culture is their life, their values and morals are worlds away from the people on my college campus,\u201d said Coby Abt, University of Oregon junior who has been living in London since July. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLearning about all these different lifestyles, seeing new places and making friends with people who are different from me makes me feel so alive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abt took college classes this summer during his stay in London and plans to spend fall semester in Spain. He is on track to enroll in courses at a Spanish university while he lives with a host family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The allure of travel is enough to keep college students yearning for more. Could the exposure to unique culture be the culprit or is it the diversity of a fresh environment that captivates so many individuals?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cities around the world are defined by the lifestyles they present. The differences in lifestyle seem to mold the overall vibe of the environment of each city \u2013 interacting with strangers, ordering coffee, commuting to work — every aspect of the city is dependent upon its societal behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI notice a level of competition here, pressure to fit in with the \u2018Miami norm\u2019,\u201d Jacobs reflected. \u201cEurope was all about individuality and self-realization.<\/a> I felt so comfortable being me because I felt like everyone around me was comfortable being themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Southwest Bavaria’s Neuschwanstein Castle is one of the most popular attractions for tourists in Germany and in Europe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jacobs is an English literature and human and social development major. She spent the last eight months living in Florence then moved to Amsterdam for the summer. Her observations of her experience in Europe and Miami have made her transition back \u201cquite interesting,\u201d and \u201canother opportunity to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Jacob\u2019s perspective, the major difference between American and European cities is the emphasis on self-realization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere’s just not an emphasis (in Miami) to figure out who you are, there’s an emphasis on acting a certain way or fulfilling a role.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked what specifically changed for her during her experience, Jacobs spoke about the inner work she did that helped her grow and mature along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat changed? Well, the thoughts in my head changed, they evolved in a way that let go of over complication and other things I didn\u2019t need,\u201d says Jacobs. \u201cI grew immensely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacobs\u2019s account of the European lifestyle credits certain aspects that seemed to inspire her self-development and growth. UM senior Jimmy Cardaras feels the same.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Prague’s Astronomical Clock on the front of city hall in Old Town Square draws thousands of tourists each day who watch the 12 apostles displayed as the clock strikes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cLiving abroad definitely changed my mentality. It opened my mind to a lot more, and now I think about things in a bigger picture,\u201d said Cardaras, an accounting and finance major who studied in Prague. \u201cMy perspective on life before felt very \u2018American centric\u2019 and since then I\u2019ve had more of an idea of the whole world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardaras explained that before his experience, his thoughts about European cities did not extend further than regarding them as travel destinations or temporary getaways, far from reality as he knew it in America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was like a \u2018we\u2019re the best\u2019 mentality, like nothing else really happens outside of the country,\u201d says Cardaras, \u201cbut living abroad helped open my mind to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardaras reflected on his consistent effort of trying new things, especially on his own. \u201cThe exposure to more cultures and unique experiences of meeting people from all over the world got me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to grow as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardaras believes that his personal growth will continue to serve him throughout his life in Miami and that he has a newfound appreciation for its diversity, \u201cI definitely have more of an interest in the international students here and how I can learn from their backgrounds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meaning of \u2018being worldly\u2019 is a fragile notion, the growth that one experiences away from normal life is only as useful as the ability to integrate it back. For these college students, radical perspective shifts, appreciation of minute details and the development of self-awareness have been profound byproducts of opening their minds to the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In comparing his perspective post abroad, Cardaras reflected, \u201cthere’s so much more out there than what I thought the world was like.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted November 17, 2022 By ALEXANDRIA SHARIFI College students who studied abroad in London, Florence and Prague have drastically unique experiences and yet all share the same underlying knowledge: travel changes you. Experiences seem to constantly change the way people … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":93,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"sidebar-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5580","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/travelwriting\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/travelwriting\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/travelwriting\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/travelwriting\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/travelwriting\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5580"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/travelwriting\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5609,"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/travelwriting\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5580\/revisions\/5609"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/travelwriting\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/93"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/travelwriting\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}