As an international student, I’ve lived through the highs and lows of uprooting my life to study in a foreign country: Adapting to a new culture where everything seems different — from the language, to the customs, to the food — while simultaneously trying to navigate academics, is a daunting task. Here at Kasteel Well, I’ve had the privilege of observing my peers adapt to a life abroad and, to a certain extent, see them go through the stages of becoming an international student I knew all too well. 

Upon arrival at the castle, it becomes apparent that you are in fact nowhere near home or any familiarity. “It was such a shock,” described Quinn Tierney, a sophomore Business of Creative Enterprise major from Boxford, Mass. Despite having traveled and spent time in other countries before this experience, the concept of staying in a small rural town in the Netherlands proved to be intimidating for Tierney at first. 

“The idea that this was going to be the place where I was going to stay for a prolonged period of time kind of freaked me out, especially since I go to school in my home state,” she said.

Mia Montminy, a sophomore communication sciences and disorders major from Bloomfield, Conn., echoed these sentiments: “It’s strange to not be from the country that you’re going to school in. People ask me where I’m from now. I don’t speak the language of the places that I go to for the most part. And the second I open my mouth, I’m an outsider.” 

Just a year ago, I felt the same way. I was a homesick freshman who was constantly ambushed by the disconnect that often accompanies leaving home, feeling wayward navigating a city that isn’t my own and not really knowing what to do to stop feeling like an outsider.

Considering that I had done it before, I was confident in my abilities to adapt to a new environment again, especially surrounded by other Emerson students going through the same thing. But in the end, becoming an international student in Well was vastly different than it was in Boston.This felt like a whole new beast to conquer. 

“I don’t think anyone can come here and say they weren’t a bit naive,” Montminy added. “As it is, I don’t think anyone truly knew what to expect until we were right in the thick of it, pushing our boundaries.”

Annabelle Kump, a sophomore BCE major from Kansas City, Mo., related to Montminy, “It’s been a wonderful opportunity to get to learn different cultures, try different cuisines and interact with people from different cultures.” However, it’s not what she always imagined it to be. 

For Kump and many others in the program, being in Well is somewhat limiting. “You need three hours minimum to kind of do anything beyond existing in Well…Being trapped [here] has been really like isolating and driving me crazy coming from living in Boston,” Kump said. 

When staying in Well, everything from going to the airport to the grocery store is a journey, and whether we like it or not, it’s part of our experience abroad in a sense. It’s normal to be disillusioned at first, especially when surrounded by things so wildly outside of our comfort zones. 

Despite disillusionment, Kump has learned through her experiences as an international student that “Not everything goes your way and that’s okay.”

Truth be told, no one was prepared to deal with the reality of navigating this new world which involves much more compromise and sacrifice than we could ever imagine. Everyone, including myself, came in more or less blind, hoping for the best. Sometimes, we were proven wrong. 

When it comes to maneuvering challenges, international students certainly know best. Tierney recounts navigating being sick in a foreign country, an endeavor I wouldn’t even wish upon my worst of enemies. Right before a weekend trip to London, Tierney contracted strep throat and was forced to stay in Well while nursing a 103 degree fever, facing the reality many students who study abroad experience when they must fend for themselves, sickness and all. 

“For a moment, I felt completely helpless because it’s a completely different healthcare system here. And I was kind of told, ‘figure it out kid,’” she said. After a disastrous attempt at communicating with a Dutch doctor, a 30-minute bus journey to get antibiotics, and a completely justified semi-break down at the doctor’s office, Tierney was able to advocate for herself and get the treatment she needed. 

In Madrid, Montminy’s wallet was stolen as she tried to help an unconscious friend outside of a club. “After I got my wallet stolen, it was just a feeling of not having any control. I think that part of being abroad is feeling out of control with certain things,” she said. 

For the most part, these feelings don’t really fade either. Instead, they linger, and we must learn to relinquish the control we seek in an attempt to gain a sense of power when we feel our most vulnerable. 

“I already had a lot of respect for anyone who is an [international student], but now I have more respect,” Montminy concludes. 

It’s not to say that the study abroad and international student experience is a constant struggle. It’s just like any part of life: you win some and you lose some. And though these moments are undoubtedly scary, they’re also instrumental to the growth one undergoes when abroad.  

Coming from Bolivia to Boston, the experience of becoming an international student brought me closer to myself in a way that I hadn’t foreseen. Knowing that I’m the only person I can rely on because everything I know and love is otherwise unreachable, while it sounds horrifying, is empowering. 

If anything, this experience forced me to rely on myself more than I ever have before. When you’re stranded in an airport in a foreign country, when you can’t understand a single word anyone around you is speaking, and when you can’t call anyone for help, all you have is yourself.  

“These experiences are critical learning points. I gained trust in myself because when you’re left to your own devices, you have to handle it. Now I feel really capable,” Tierney concludes. 

No one is coming to save you, so you learn to strap on your boots, wipe the tears, breathe, and trudge on ahead. That’s what becoming an international student means: to have your world turned upside down in a second and have the ability to keep living in it the next. 

Becoming an international student isn’t for the faint of heart after all.

“It’s a privilege to be uncomfortable and to be around things that are unknown,” she added.

Editor’s note: Quinn Tierney has created illustrations for The Beacon’s Kasteel Well Bureau this semester.