Embrace the Unexpected

           So, you’ve decided to study abroad. Maybe you already have some familiarity with what you’ll be doing, but most likely you are in the same position I was: anticipating the travel without a firm idea of what to expect. You’re aware of some broad generalities. It’s going to be hot, or there’s going to be a lot of walking, or you won’t have access to the same comfort foods you’ve gotten used to relying on during those midterm crunch weeks. But it’s impossible to say what your trip will really be like. If you’re like me, that stresses you out a little bit. That’s okay! That’s our natural response to unknown experiences. But hopefully, it also excites you.
            My advice to you is this: embrace the unexpected. It’s a fact of life that things will happen that you don’t see coming, and this is doubly true when you’re immersed in a new society. Sometimes the unexpected will be major. When I first landed in Cyprus, I found out that our housing had changed for the first week due to construction at the university and we would be staying at a hotel in a different location. Sometimes the unexpected will be minor. While hiking out in the scrublands of the eastern coast, I found an old blue chair inexplicably stationed among the rocks. On your trip make sure you explore. Walk around the new housing. Sit on the chair you found.
            It will be challenging but do your best to frame things in the positive. The temptation will be to consider anything that is a departure from your expectations as a nuisance. Cyprus is a cash culture, which means I had to get used to carrying around a jangling sack of change with me when I went to the shops. Cyprus is also chock full of stray cats—in fact, it’s estimated that there are more cats than people on the island—and I’ve never considered myself an animal person. It is all too easy to just be annoyed by these developments. I didn’t expect to have so much trouble keeping track of all my two-euro coins or be surrounded by hungry felines whenever I went out for a gyro. 
            But this is where it’s more important than ever to embrace what you didn’t see coming and notice how it compares to the world back home that you’re accustomed to. Not only will doing so improve your experience on the trip, but it will help you build your skills of adaptability and flexibility. If you’re willing to jump into whatever awaits you across the globe, you’ll find it’s much easier to jump into that new internship or last-minute class addition when you get back to Pitt. So take that opportunity and get ready to enjoy the unexpected.