As they scour local markets like Borough Market in London looking for ingredients at least somewhat similar to their family’s traditional Thanksgiving mainstays so they could re-create it with their friends, they begin to dread the program’s end date; uncertain what to feel anxious about first. There are exams coming up; there are people and places they’ve grown to love who they don’t want to have to say goodbye to. The ultimate dichotomy presents itself: they can’t wait to get home for Christmas break (students with pets, I always found, felt this even more acutely) but they also don’t want to leave.Â
Inevitably, the one thing almost every single student we hosted said towards the end of their semester? “I wish I hadn’t travelled as much. I wish I’d explored locally more.” Or for those who had come with friends from home, “I wish I hadn’t hung out with the people I came with; I wish I’d branched out.”
The essence of study abroad is just that: branching out. Stretching your mind and your heart to quietly observe those around you, how they move through their day, where their values lie, what their priorities are. Particularly in the digital age, you’ll share many of the same ideas and customs, likes and dislikes as your counterparts in your host city. But, upon further inspection and close observation, differences will become clear. And you will slowly arrive at the correct assumption that different is neither better nor worse, it’s simply different. These are the words my big brother sent me off to Rome with on my first experience as an international student at the age of eighteen. These are the same words I repeated to each of my incoming cohorts of students, three times a year in at least as many destinations for nearly fifteen years.
This Thanksgiving, as overseas travel is no longer restricted, there will be thousands of students – most in their sophomore or junior year – who will be looking forward to the Spring term abroad. After weeks or months or even years of planning, they’ll have finally received their acceptance letters. As alluded above, many confirm immediately upon receiving those letters, yet a growing number do so just after Thanksgiving. With all the economic insecurity, it is no wonder some families postpone the decision right up to the deadline.linkÂ