Home is where your heart is, and your life will never be the same after moving abroad. Yes, all that is true, you probably already know. Or you’re about to find out. However, I don’t know whether it’s because I just quit therapy or because I finished my cardio and suddenly all my problems disappeared, but I just don't feel like getting into the emotional side of Erasmus. For now, okay?

So instead, I want to share five things about moving to a new country that no one tells you.

You will find a very stupid way to lose money (and it’s okay)

When you move to a new country, everything is new. It truly feels like we are newborns and we need to learn how things function all over again.

Personally, when I arrived in Hungary, I would use the toilet and then carry my tissues all the way to the only trash can in the bathroom, outside the stall, under the sink (it was a shared bathroom in a dormitory, so this was quite a walk, okay?).

It took me a week to realize that I could flush the papers, because apparently Hungary has a super mega ultra-power flush system.

Well, that mistake was free, but sometimes it costs you more. For example, I dare you to find an International student that has not been fined.

Everyone has at least one story about getting a fine. Maybe they didn’t know when their bus pass expired, or they forgot their student card and got on the train to Budapest, or they decided to ride an electric scooter with two people on it.

And then you find yourself crying in the university bathroom for the three minutes before class starts, thinking about all the expenses you already have to deal with (at least that’s what I did after my fine).

I am here to tell you, it's okay, you are not stupid, you are not useless, and you will probably recover financially. You are learning and the mistakes are part of the process.

You will acquire superpowers

You know how cats always fall on their feet? Well, people who live abroad have their own set of skills that you naturally develop after moving away from home.

I can assure you at least one of them: your sense of direction will change completely. Before moving abroad, I would get lost even in the city where I had lived my whole life. All streets looked the same to me, and I could never memorize a path even if I had crossed it many times before.

After living abroad for two years, my sense of direction is impeccable. Maybe it’s because we feel more exposed in a new country, so our senses become sharper, or maybe it’s just our fear of getting kidnapped. The point is, now I can always find my way home, even when home is a 12-bed mixed hostel in a sketchy neighborhood.

Besides being a walking google maps, now I can also sleep anywhere (bus, train, airport, 12-bed mixed hostel in a sketchy neighborhood), and I can do anything on two hours of sleep.

The super powers are different for everyone, and I can't predict which one you will get, but you will definitely be blessed by one, trust me.

We are all boring

“I’m so funny in my native language, I swear.” I’ve heard this many times, and most of the time I don’t believe it. But this part is true: it’s hard to translate your personality into English.

As international students, we do our best to translate jokes and come up with quick comebacks, but it’s just not the same. Sometimes English feels like a made-up, empty language.

The good news is that we’re all in the same boat, acting more boring than usual (except for my British friend, who is actually funny).

You will enjoy the language barrier

Yes, one of the biggest challenges of moving abroad is the language barrier. You’ll find yourself in plenty of tricky and funny situations because of it.

But there’s also a good side. For example, whenever I’m studying at my faculty, I’m surrounded by people speaking Hungarian, Arabic, or German. To me, it’s just sounds, so it doesn’t bother me at all.

Even better, when someone is being rude, you’ll never know. Ignorance really is a blessing. Until you accidentally learn the curse words, and then you realize what some drunk men in the streets have been calling you all along.

And when you finally go back home, you will end up listening to a long, dramatic breakup story from the table next to you, when you really need to focus on your work, and you’ll secretly wish there was a language barrier right then.

You will feel like a tourist and a local at the same time

After a few months of doing Erasmus, you start to get the hang of things. You know this one supermarket has better prices for meat, but the other one has better pastries. You know which bar to go to if you want to see the entire city, and which bar to go to if you just want to chill with a few friends.

And when someone asks you a question and you know the answer, you feel like an expert, you basically deserve citizenship already.

At the same time, you walk to the city center one day and you find a big crowd of people and you get scared by the sudden sound of fireworks because apparently it’s the country’s anniversary, and you had no idea. And the surprises never stop.

Conclusion

Every experience is different when it comes to moving to a new country, but there are moments that bring us together as international students.

I hope you find reassurance in knowing that no matter what you go through on this journey, someone has probably experienced something similar, and it turned out fine.

Thank you for reading this far!

Enjoy Erasmus :)