Your first “real” weeks abroad. What do you do?

You made it to week three! You’ve probably gotten through orientation, gotten settled in your new place of living, and have hopefully made a few new friends. Routines have been set and you’ve probably gotten your first assignments.

So what else is there to do? Have fun, of course! Keep in mind that you’re in a new country! New people to meet, new things to see, and new foods to try, so let’s jump start that initial week three slog (which is a thing, believe me) and set you up to make sure you’re out and about having as much fun as possible in your host country!

Remember that list of activities I told you to plan? Let’s use it! Optimally, you’d have highlighted some places around your college that you wanted to visit before you got to your host country! Coffee shops, restaurants, stores, local attractions. Just choose one thing to do every day and get out there! It’s important to remember that you may not want to go venturing too far out just yet! You’re still orientating yourself in this new environment, so explore some small stuff and get used to going out and about.

Plan for some weekend trips! There will be times when you’re too busy with this or that, but take a look ahead at your course syllabi and schedule trips around your exam and project dates. One of my biggest regrets is leaving weekend trip planning to the last second, having a lot of my early trips be very spur of the moment. Get some stuff in the books and set up markers and trips to be excited for! My two most memorable trips were to places called Beppu and Tottori when I was in Japan. The former, Japan’s premier hot spring city and the latter, a prefecture that hosts some of the most beautiful natural sights I’ve ever seen. These were the major trips I went on, but I know I certainly could have gone on more if I’d planned things out a bit better in advance!

Make sure you invite your friends along! Part of the fun is meeting new people. Of course, if you’re in a country with existing friends, hang out with them, but you’ll meet a lot of great people from locals to other international students, so don’t be afraid to invite them out too! The more the merrier. Plus the locals probably know some better spots than you!

Keep track of local events! A lot of the time, there will be seasonal events in your opening weeks when you arrive. Ask around, look online, and keep an eye out for fliers for cool things to do! When I first got to Japan, the cherry blossoms were just getting ready to bloom so there were a lot of really cool places to visit, tours to go on, and Hanami (flower-viewing) to experience. I’m really glad I took part in it!

The first cherry blossoms in Japan (right around February)

Rest! This is super important. Yes, the time you spend in your host country will absolutely rocket past you without even a second thought, but enjoy your time there. Sleep in, do nothing sometimes, and just enjoy your time there. Sometimes what I’d do is that I’d just go to the bathhouse down the road from my apartment and have that be my activity for the day. After a long day of classes, sometimes a good soak was all I needed.

The famous Tottori Sakkyu (or Tottori Sand Dunes) Where a huge, sprawling beach of dunes meet the ocean

There are a ton of things to do and get adjusted to during your “real” first weeks in your host country. Just take care of yourself, be careful with where you go, and do something fun as often as you can!

In my next blog, I frankly don’t know what I’ll write about! Maybe I’ll dig into some of the details of my trips abroad! Beppu and Tottori were such cool places to visit (as I’m sure you can see in the photos I attached). Keep an eye out!

A little teaser of the city of Beppu! Keep an eye out for a blog about this city