I found that this video, its themes, and the topics that were raised by both students and professionals applied to my experience both going on my study abroad through University of Richmond, as well as moving to Israel in elementary school, or going to Spain and Costa Rica for summer programs in high school.
Some of the things that really stood out to me were a lot of the "firsts" where you encounter something that you find so drastically different from natural daily life to which I was accustomed. I found that despite the language being the same in Australia, I had experienced just as many culture shocks in comparison to my experience in Spanish speaking nations when I was younger.
I found that while I lived in these new cultures, I very much adopted some of the colloquialisms and the nature of natives, however, on my return to the states, I slowly let these go. I find this to be an interesting aspect of sociology and psychology and understanding how we experience these situations.
One of the great tips I thought was provided by one of the students was to keep busy, getting a job to meet new people and not dwell on what you miss from home, and also plan your travels and goals while being abroad. International Adviser, Kritika Onsanit followed up on this concept with recommending getting active within clubs and organizations that are offered by the University.
Finally, I feel like this would be a great video to watch prior to my experience abroad. I was off campus the semester prior to going to Australia so I do not know what orientations were like, but this was a great insight to the challenges of landing and making a home in a new culture.
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