Studying in a foreign country is one of the full-on experiences that a student can have in a lifetime. It’s a never-to-be-forgotten experience, especially if you’re an introvert from head to toe.
Now only are you in a new place where you don’t know a person. But basically you re-do the freshman stage and face the necessity to make friends, get extremely social, full of life, friendly and never get tired AGAIN. This is great up until the moment when you just want to be on your own for ten minutes and not have to smile and converse with anyone.
Although introverts are usually thought to be antisocial, who don’t feel like hanging out with others at all, the reality is that even introverted people enjoy spending time with pals. Nonetheless, as much as they do like it, after going out with a group of people, they need to calm down and recharge the batteries.
So, let’s check some tips for getting through your study abroad as an introvert.
Find a Place to Hide
Find a coffee shop. Find a hotel lobby. Find a museum. Find a spot that will be yours completely, and you can escape to anytime to read a book, work on your laptop or just dream away far from your roomies and troubles of the day. Ensure to find your personal comfort zone somewhere with 0% chance of running into people you know. On most study abroad programs, students either live with roomies or in dorms with dozens of people making noise here and there. Your escape place will save you from introvert burdens.
Meet New People
For introverts, reaching out to people in a new city or country can be a pretty tough challenge but exert every effort to benefit from college forums, Facebook groups and other ways of making friends.
By initiating online conversations, you can find people who are on the same wavelength, and it will make it easier to connect to them. Once you make the first step, start participating in social events and strike up conversations.
Find ‘Your’ Person
As you get into the program, you will find out that you’re not the only one introvert in the room. The more students you get acquainted with at the beginning, the easier it will be to catch people that you click with and feel like you’re like-minded. Some of your potential best friends may share the same with you or, who knows, maybe the best friendship in your life will be born from the trip to Paris or participating in college theaters among imaginative minds.
Explore the New Place On Your Own
Paris, London or New York are big scary cities, especially if you move there from a small town of 20 000. It may be intimidating to do stuff alone in a global city that never sleeps. Eventually though, you’re going to learn to venture out alone and navigate the city with ease. Sure you don’t know the majority of people passing by, but you will 100% find peace in the anonymity.
Benefit from Online Help
It’s so easy, especially for extroverts, to approach someone for help in time of need. When it comes to introverts, asking for help requires certain efforts and decisiveness while all you can do sometimes is just standing uncertain and staring awkwardly at people, as they pass, not knowing what to do. Luckily, online academic assistance resources are just limitless!
If you’re in the boat of introverts and it’s your first year of studying abroad, just be friendly, be yourself, do what you love, and things are going to work out.
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