studying-abroad

Today I sit on my usual train from home to Oslo, staring at the washed-out landscape rolling by the window. The cheerless 14-degree temperature outside matches my sentiments as I type this post. I can't seem to shake off this lingering fatigue, the kind that seeps into you slowly, layer by chilling layer, when you're living a life that's so far removed from everything you've always held dear.

Studying abroad, they say, is one hell of an adventure, a ride of self-exploration and cultural enlightenment. But what they don't tell you is how often it becomes a solitary journey of quiet introspection, a bitter serving of homesickness, and an acute longing for the familiarity you've taken for granted at home.

Days stretch ahead, filled with grueling lectures, library readings, and the ceaseless chatter of my peers, pleasant yet foreign. My mornings start with an obligatory skim of global news, most of which seems to only add to the unease growing in the pit of my stomach. Take today, for instance. A peculiar headline caught my eye, but as I clicked through, the page returned the message: ‘Sorry, I can't provide the information you're asking for because you've given a partial HTML opening tag which does not contain any content or useful information. Please provide a proper URL or text content to summarize.’ It's almost reflective of this phase of international study, where half-baked, disjointed experiences and misunderstood phrases are more commonplace than one might expect.

Just as this incomplete tag failed to access the information I required, life abroad often leaves me grappling for any semblance of comfort or understanding. I am constantly learning, relearning, and unlearning my very identity. It's paradoxical, how an experience meant to broaden horizons often leaves you feeling cornered and misplaced.

As the train trundles on, a metaphorical reflection of my abroad journey, I am reminded of how much I miss the rhythms of home. The hearty laughter of friends in our familiar hangout spots, the comforting familiarity of familial banters echoing in the dining room, and the sense of belonging that comes only from the place we truly call home.

Nevertheless, this dreary journey is also my journey. The lonely path teaches resilience and promotes growth. It shapes us into a version of ourselves we never thought we could be. And while it comes replete with its own set of miseries, I have to venture out and make the most of it, even if it means writing melancholic blog posts on a chilly train ride to Oslo.

After all, the beauty of studying abroad lies in its inherent promise - the promise of a brighter tomorrow, earned through walking down an unknown path today, no matter how daunting.

Tags: studying abroad homesickness personal growth

As my fingers lightly press the keys of my laptop, aboard an early morning train cutting through the frost-kissed Norwegian landscape, I find myself lost in the fluency of thoughts that tumble relentlessly like the cold waters of a stream. This chill morning has already laid claim to the swirling curvature of my sighs, the constant rocking of the train harmonizing with the tremor of a loneliness that is as heartbreaking as it is enlightening. I grapple with this solitude as my mind reaches across continents, bridging the transition from accustomed comfort to the challenging unknown of studying abroad.

Every experience here has sounded a clarion call to the depths of my heart, searing my days with the melancholic sweetness of resilience and adaptability. Not just the sheer beauty of Oslo, or the bracing chill that beads my skin and reminds me constantly of my distance from home, but the intricacy of cultures, languages, histories unfolding in layers of revelation, as well as the stark reality of our world at war with itself.

This morning, the news echoed dully against my solitude, speaking of violence in distant lands. A tragic, heart-rending rhythm pulsating with the increasing frequency of escalating conflict between Israel and Palestine. A saga of suffering that seems to have sunk its claws into the very soul of humanity, provoking a sadness in me that is sadly, almost familiar.

I could almost taste the sadness behind the words of Moussa Abu Marzouk: a plea for peace, a desperate overture for something that should be as natural as breathing but has evidently become a sought-after privilege. And in this plea, I tasted the bitter undertone of a world arrayed against itself. I thought of the ravaged realities of families innocently caught in the crossfire, their lives percussively punctuated by the dread and uncertainty that accompanies the scourge of war.

Temporary walls of distance may define the geographical span between my present and that tormented terrain of unnerving tension, but my heart is not impervious to the sorrow that seeps through those borders. Suddenly, a silence louder than atrocities spoken reverberates through the train, drowning the benign hum of travel in the unrequited sea of humanity's ache.

You see, studying abroad has not only allowed me to observe and understand the diversity and nuances of the world—it has amplified my global consciousness. It fuels the realization in me that we, as inhabitants of this shared globe, are all intricately woven into a tapestry of shared pain and joy. It makes me cognizant of the world as a single body, each country a limb, every state a vein—our joys and sufferings flowing through an interconnecting circuitry of life's grand design.

The chill outside feels less harsh compared to the frigid news that filled my morning, and yet, in the subsuming lonesomeness of my journey, I cling to hope. Hope that as I learn, as I grow, as I write, my words, our words, can bridge the chasms of disparity and conflict. That my solitary voice will join a global choir singing a hymn of unity, of peace, and ultimately of love. In chaos, we seek calm, in divisions, we yearn for unity, and in sorrow, we search for joy. Just as my eyes never tire of seeking the familiar in the unknown, my heart never ceases to seek peace amidst unrest, and warmth within the biting cold of a 1-degree morning.

Tags: studying abroad global consciousness Israel-Palestine conflict