As some of you may know, I have spent the past month and a half in the lovely city Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Seeing as I was completely clueless as to what this experience would entail, I thought I would detail a few realizations I have encountered thus far in my semester abroad.

1. The word study is included for a reason

During the months leading up to my departure, my vague impression of studying overseas was mainly characterized by images of myself reclining in the sand under the South African sun, enjoying a piña colada or five. Maybe I would crack open my history book if I ran out of things to do in between bungee jumping and shark cage diving, or perhaps study Zulu while riding a giraffe. While studying abroad may seem like a glorified vacation for some, for a girl who currently spends almost 30 hours per week in class and at class-related activities, it isn’t. The amount of units you take will directly correlate with how “relaxing” of a semester you will have, just as it would back on campus. Obviously I will take studying a foreign language in its native country over studying back on campus any day, but it’s hard to remember the benefits of this privilege when there is so much to be explored.

2. Don’t take things too personally

Nearly every time friends and I go out, we encounter something that makes us say, “That would never happen in America.” Whether it be regarding interactions with strangers, customer service or simply which side of the path people walk on (sorry for running into you, everyone I have ever encountered at Liberty Midlands Mall) it is a given that culture and customs are different. Initially, it is easy to take the so-called “bad” differences as a direct and personal offense. However, open-mindedness to even the most miniscule of cultural differences is key to fully accepting and embracing the country you are living in. Also keep in mind that not everything can be chalked up to a cultural dissimilarity: there are exceptions to everything, everywhere. And remember to appreciate the things about places and people that are better aboard than they are in America, before you leave them.

3. Have expectations, but hold them loosely

One wise piece of advice that a friend gave me before leaving, was to never force yourself to feel anything that you don’t feel. Please don’t let people tell you to repress your pre-conceived notions about a country before you get there, because that is not only unnatural, but also impossible. Have as many expectations as you want, including the expectation that your individual experience will be different from everyone else’s. If you aren’t heartbroken or awestruck at exactly “all the right times,” aka when everyone else is, that’s okay. Allow yourself the freedom to feel what you feel, whether it is homesickness, annoyance, sadness, or happiness, whenever you feel it.

4. You might miss home more than you think

Everyday, there are moments when I catch myself missing even the simplest things about home: like driving a car, having the ability to safely go places alone, and eating American ice cream. (Other pressing matters include: why is there mayo on my pizza and will I get rabies if I attempt to pet this dog?) For the first few weeks, guilt would force it’s way into my thoughts, causing me to wonder how I could care about such petty things when I have been incredibly blessed with this opportunity to travel so far from home. Over the past few weeks, however, I have come to realize that I’m both thankful for the opportunity live in South Africa and thankful for the life I already have at home. I have gained much appreciation for this country and the different cultures I have been able to experience. I would jump at the opportunity to visit again, but it’s also not a bad thing to have something so good to come back to at home.

5. Take it all in

So far, my stay in Pietermaritzburg has been a blur of school and birthdays and outings, all late nights and early mornings, and the newness of everything just seems sweep the days into weeks and the weeks into months. It’s like study abroad time is regular time on a one and a half speed, with transitions and relationships all progressing slightly faster in order to compensate for the short time limit on this living situation. I’ve started to force myself to slow down a bit: to write down memories from each day, to take more pictures and more pauses for conversation. Although I wish I had started to do so earlier, I am intentionally savoring this last month, even amongst the (literally horrifying) bugs and the rain and the schoolwork, because I know it will be gone before I’m ready.