Study abroad returners find coming back to the States an adjustment
By Laura Frazier
UP junior Haley Barrick has realized something crucial in the first few weeks of the new semester.
"I don't know what it is, but I can't write 'groups' anymore. It's always 'grupos'," she said.
Though she has been back in the United States since mid-December, Barrick, who spent last fall in Santiago, Chile, still finds herself writing notes in Spanish. Like many UP students returning from study abroad programs, she discovered that she has to make certain adjustments.
One of the biggest adjustments relates to academics. The general consensus among students is that while the study abroad programs are academically-centered, the workload is lighter than it is at UP.
Though it is a relief for Maddie Sweet, a junior who studied in Nantes, France, to have classes in English again, getting back to having quizzes and needing to study on a daily basis has been a challenge.
"Here everything is a distraction when it comes time to study," Sweet said.
Kathryn Marsh, a junior, studied in Granada, Spain and is experiencing the same issues.
"It's been hard to regain motivation to study. I have to modify my work ethic and be more structured," she said.
Though it may be a challenge to readjust to the academic life at UP, students who spoke to the Beacon for this article said that study abroad did not affect their relationships with their friends back on campus.
"It's as if we can say that we went abroad and had our own personal experiences, but now we can get back to being friends," Barrick said.
When she returned, Barrick realized that a strong foundation kept her friendships alive while she was abroad.
Timmy Trabon, junior, who also studied in Nantes, also has had no problems slipping back into his previous friendships.
"Studying abroad was a little chapter of life, but not any more important than any other chapter," Trabon said, adding that it was easy for him to reconnect with his old friends.
Some students who lived in a family setting find it is a relief to live independently once back at UP. While in Granada, Marsh lived in a home with a mother and her eighteen year-old daughter. She said that it was beneficial because it immersed her in the culture. But there was a downside.
"Living in a home stay program was like being a guest in someone's house for four months," she said.
Now Marsh is glad to be able to hang out with her own friends on her own time, without the requirements of her host family.
Many study abroad students are also relieved to be free of having to rely on using a foreign language. But now that they are back on campus, they also worry about staying fluent in the language they study.
"I am not harboring any delusions that I will retain everything," Sweet said, who misses the opportunity to speak French frequently.
Though students expected readjustments returning to UP, they say they are thankful for the opportunities they had during study abroad.
Barrick says that studying abroad made her more outgoing and social.
"I got what I needed from my experience," she said. "I was creating my own story."
Yet they are happy to continue their "story" at UP.
"There were times that I just missed the UP community," Marsh said.
