By: Raini Butler
I’ve always liked the idea of living with no regrets. In the summer between my first and second year of college, I participated in the Global Scholars study abroad program in Madrid and Belgium, which lasted six weeks.
I had gone abroad alone twice before so I kind of knew what to expect. My mom would want to talk everyday, or for me to at least check in. At least one or two things would go terribly wrong. I would see the most beautiful places that I could ever imagine. I would be extremely nervous to meet my host family.
As part of the program, we would be placed with a host family in Belgium. We wouldn’t find out who they were until a week beforehand, but we would know that they would be matched up with us based on our answers to a survey given to us before the trip.
I had stayed with a host family once before, had loved them, and still keep in touch with them to this day so I knew that it could go very well. However, I also knew how difficult it would be seeing as I wouldn’t speak any of their language and wouldn’t be at all familiar with their culture.
The day I met my host family, I promise you, I was absolutely terrified. The day I left my host family, however, broke my heart a little bit. After living with them for three weeks and learning their story as well as who they were as people, I felt like I was a part of their family.
When my host mom wished me goodbye, she was hiding the fact that she had started crying. When my host dad helped me into my Uber, he went into dad mode and made my driver promise to get me to the train station safely while holding back tears of his own as he said goodbye. When I sat in the backseat of that same Uber, I was surprised that I was holding back my own tears.
When you’re abroad, you never know who you’re going to connect with and how much of an impact they’re going to have on you. Get to know people, with caution of course, but still be willing to learn their story and let them teach you about their culture. That is one thing you will never regret.
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