Expect the Unexpected

Welcome to abroad! The food, the language, the culture, school, music, and just about everything else is different! Right now you are probably expecting everything to be different, but truth be told there are some random things that I Neve would have thought about before that i find helpful now.

Sports
In my personal experience i’ve found (especially for girls) that it’s less common for people to play sports here. In the United States almost everyone plays sports for a club or my school. Here they don’t have school sports and since not everyone is able to go to a club, there’s a large group of people who don’t play sports. If you’re like me and love to be active, just consider looking into different options before you arrive at your host family or ask your host family down after your arrival if they have any suggestions. 

Food
The food is obviously different, and although fresh it is A LOT of carbs and meat and not a lot vegetables. Now I love carbs a lot but especially with the change in climate, diet, added stress, (and in my case huge change of altitude) it can take a huge toll on your skin and overall health. But if you expect it you can either counter act it or tell your host family a type of food you would love them to make (or offer to make it for them!)

After School
I was talking to a program friend recently about how important it is to use all of your time here. That doesn’t mean you have to make a cultural excursion to a museum everyday, but even going for a walk around your pueblo is better than staying at home. It’s hard to get in a good healthy mindset sitting in your room after school thinking about stress, missing home, procrastinating homework, or counting down the days until you leave. 

Host Parents
I’m not sure how well you get along with your parents at home, but at least in my situation I spend a lot of time with my parents and have always enjoyed a good family dinner. Here it’s equally as important to spend time with your host parents. They volunteered to host you and they want to help. So as crazy or different as they may seem, the more you embrace your differences and make an effort to converse with them the more your Spanish and experience abroad will improve.