What to Expect… Perhaps the Unexpected

 A prompt from Cougs Abroad Blog Squad asks me to consider my expectations for the upcoming trip and decide which of them might need to be reevaluated.

July 7th 

My radius of attention expands only so far into the future, but while I have been focused more on obtaining a job and other summer odds and ends, I haven’t forgotten my upcoming trip to Scotland. Purchasing tickets was a momentous occasion – there’s no going back! – and knowing exactly when I am getting on the plane helped cement the journey even more in my mind. The reality of it probably won’t even hit me until I am on the plane over the Atlantic. I can count the times I’ve traveled by plane without an immediate family member on one hand, so while the prospect of coordinating my own departures and arrivals is a little daunting, I am excited to be on my own. While studying in Scotland, I expect to be confused, worried and busy with adjusting to lifestyles and environments, but it’s a challenge I am more than willing to take on.

I have a few other expectations for living and studying in Scotland:

I expect to make friends. Whenever I think of studying abroad, I remember a roommate from Mexico I had the chance to live with my freshman year. She made a lot of friends, including myself, and I expect that I will be able to meet friends in my dorm, in class and in clubs while I am studying abroad as well. An expectation like this will give me the drive to be personable and talk to other students when I first arrive.

I expect not everyone will view me positively. Honestly, I wish everyone would be my friend, especially as I try doubly hard to represent my own individuality and present the best side of my country. The truth is that people may or will dislike me, and I need to move past trying to cater to everyone if that sacrifices my personality and my experience.

I expect to travel around the UK. This may not be realistic, but I am hoping to take any opportunity to travel around different areas of Scotland, England and Ireland. To make this a reality I intend to plan a lot in advance so when my mid-semester break rolls around, I’ll know just what to do during it. Money and time may thwart my plans, so I should be prepared to change an overly optimistic itinerary.

I expect that classes will not be too challenging. It couldn’t hurt to expect the worse from my studying scenario, but I feel that I will not have a horrible time with classes. Fueled by a reassurance from a student from my university in Scotland who I met at WSU, I have come to expect that classes will be interesting, engaging and somewhat challenging, but not all-consuming. I would be heartbroken if my time abroad was spent locked in my room on this computer, working constantly on difficult assignments and unable to manage leisure time and cultural experiences with school. This trip is first and foremost for studying and getting a new perspective on my writing and communications major, but I expect that I will be able to breathe and enjoy it while I am there.

I expect to never be bored, lonely or homesick. Probably the most unrealistic of my expectations is that I will be able to eventually combat culture shock, loneliness and missing home by filling my time with new experiences and relaxation. I see myself as a positive thinker, and hope that my abilities to self-motivate and to be outgoing will allow me to step outside of my comfort zone and shake off any loneliness. Perhaps I should alter my expectation to allow for some mixture of these feelings, but I would deeply regret spending hours on Skype or on facebook missing friends and family when I could be out exploring. With this in mind, I will make a huge effort when I first arrive to avoid things that might make me withdraw or miss home.

I expect to be able to buy a lot of clothing, etc while I am there. Maybe this is the most unrealistic expectation, but I love shopping and intend to pack light and buy a lot of clothing in the UK. The more I think about this, the less this seems like a good idea. I swear I’m good at managing money!

I expect there will be a “learning curve” to life in Scotland. Most of all I am aware that it won’t be easy right off the bat. My only comparison to this sort of feeling is entering college for the first time, where I struggled with pinning down my personality and managing my time between brand new activities in a new setting. Compared to my freshman year, my sophomore year was a little more fun, relaxing, and comfortable, but I honestly doubt I will completely feel this way abroad. The best I can do is adjust to the “learning curve” through experience and realize that not everything is going to go perfectly.  Hopefully this attitude will help me “roll with the punches” when I experience frustrating or confusing things when I first arrive. It will get better!