People were always telling me to get outside my comfort zone. I remember my dad telling me that once I left my comfort zone, would be when I'd learn the most. And studying abroad in Asia certainly takes that comfort zone and throws it out the window. Living in a country unlike your own, with a completely different language is taking your comfort zone to a whole new level.

It wasn’t until the summer of 2014, when I decided to venture out to Guilin, China and live with a host family. I had been considering the opportunity for a while and my father would often joke about sending me to China if I’d misbehaved, however, it hadn’t truly become a reality until I was aboard an airplane and headed thousands of miles from home.

Airplane mode on. Cellular data off.

I thought about the 19-hour journey ahead of me and mustered up an anxious sigh. While taking in a deep breath, I reminisced to the previous night when I laid in my bed, nervous, hopeful, and exhilarated. I had gone away from home before, for weeks at a time, yet the feelings I had been experiencing that night were unlike anything I had ever felt. I was about to be living in a culture unlike my own, speaking a language I was not yet fluent in, with a family I had never met. I felt open to this new challenge.

Six things I learned while in Guilin, China…

1. Be ready and willing

This is your chance to truly immerse yourself into another culture. Your cultural sensitivity will increase as you experience other people's way of life. Having a sense of what different cultures are like is extremely important within our constantly globalizing world.

The best thing you could do for yourself while abroad, is to forget what you know about your societal rules, and see yourself as one of the locals. Some tell themselves that simply being abroad is enough to having a magical and memorable experience, but the truth is, being willing is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. Be present. Be mindful. Be open, be ready and be willing to take on anything this opportunity has to offer.

2. Keep your Wits about you, always

Don't forget, you are in a foreign land with different laws and different customs. Don’t assume everyone is looking for your best interest. As a foreigner, you’re more likely to be a target for scams, pickpockets and lecherous men.

I had been at a bus stop one day, when this man asked my friend and I if we were going the same way. We could feel something was off, so when he asked if we wanted a ride home with him, we noticed his irritable disposition and quickly dismissed the offer. Who knows what his intentions were.

Listen to your instincts.

Especially in the evening is a time to be most cautious. The next week, I had just been leaving a Chinese night club with my male and female friends when we were approached by a group of men outside the club. Since they seemed intrigued with our Western appearances, we assumed they would be friendly.

Unfortunately for us, they were not. They were drunk and belligerent. They had attempted to sexually harass my friend and I until the guys we were with rushed to our aid. Had it not been for them, I might be sharing a very different story.

Be adventurous, just be smart about it.

3. Be unafraid of new experiences, this is your blank slate

As you conquer the obstacles of figuring out how to use public transit in a foreign country, or asking for simple things in a market, you are building a confidence and ability to adapt in foreign situations.You are in a new city with fresh faces and a blank slate. Use this opportunity to be someone you've always wanted to be. Let go and try new things. Embrace this once in a life-time experience.

Afterwards you will realize that you CAN do anything you put your mind to, despite the obstacles you might face. Challenge yourself, you’ll thank yourself later.

4. Start a conversation. Think like a local.

One night, I had decided to venture out alone in the streets of Guilin. It was early evening and the warm Summer air brushed against my face. I must have seemed lost because a Chinese man approached me. He seemed young, late teens-early twenties at most. I was hesitant initially, being approached by a stranger, but he shocked me with his next words.

They were in English. No one native to this village spoke English. As taken aback as I was that he asked by his inquiry of where I was going, he was twice as surprised when I responded in Chinese. I asked if he knew where the Cultural Walking Street was, and he told me he was on his way there too.

We had walked beside each other on the busy sidewalk as he regaled me with details about his life. We shared our interests in music, politics, and his current living situation in America. My disposition towards him softened as we bridged the culture and language gap. He had been attending a private boarding school in Atlanta, GA for the past two years. He only came home on select holidays and during the summer. His English was flawless.

He ended up taking me to dinner that night. I had no idea what he ordered for us once we arrived, but we sat at an outdoor table overlooking the street. It was a beautiful night. Our dishes arrived and it was a traditional beef with vegetables on white rice. I picked up my chop sticks and dug in. The native flavors danced on my tongue.

I looked at my new friend as we laughed and talked for what seemed like hours. (In Chinese I might add) Without even realizing it, I had been able to have an open dialogue in another language. I felt pride in that feat.

After I had made my way home, I received a text from my new friend asking for my We-Chat. Facebook is blocked by the government there, so the Chinese made their own, government sanctioned version. I scrolled through my phone and sent him my username. Within seconds I accepted his friend request. Add as friend. To this day I still have a We-Chat and keep in contact with those friends I've made abroad.

Forging bonds with those you meet abroad is one of the greatest relationships you could form. They've taught me humility, acceptance, openness and to not take myself so seriously.

5. Write & record your noteworthy encounters

While abroad, I had kept with me a journal. In this I would write about my daily encounters, my thoughts on places I’d been, my feelings on the people I’d met. I blogged about the temples I’d visited, or the restaurants I’d been to. I’d even managed to recall the terms I’d learned in class and which teachers had changed the way I viewed the language.

To this day, I sometimes look back to those journals and videos, and think about my time in Guilin. Even when I'd reminice on my experiences there, I'd feel grounded in knowing I ever had the courage to do those things in the first place. I thank my past self for letting me look back into my past, and use that knowledge to better myself in the future.

6. Take it all in and enjoy

The Li River Mountain range was breath taking.

As I absorbed sun and took in the view. I wondered how one could truly capture something so grand in such a small amount of time. I felt as though I was in the middle of a Chinese painting. The vivid blue and green river water flowed to and fro like a paint brush sliding across a canvas. I had hesitantly agreed to passage via bamboo raft, and it had been about an hour when I noticed the sunset turning the sky an array of colors and textures. It created a landscape of true beauty.

I laid back and let it all in. I felt peace.

That was only the beginning.