By Klai Iheb | Observer Contributor
Being an international student is a big adventure. It is a new life that we should be completely prepared for before going for it. That is why many people decide to leave in the middle of their experience, while others stay for years. I personally learned how to overcome obstacles more quickly than other people. This situation makes me a person who is able to travel and live everywhere in the world and communicate with everybody whatever the language is, and now I am able to say: “It was not easy but I made it.”
Being an international student means being famous. A lot of people know me and want to talk to me. They always think that I am different and I am going to fascinate them with my culture such as my lifestyle, my hobbies, and even my music. They find everything I say hilarious. Through my experience as an international student, I found that interesting and helpful to adapt easily in a short period. However, the fears and the challenges I faced during my time abroad are probably more than the good time I had.
One of the main disappointments of some students living abroad is the failure to make local friendships. It is really hard to change my life and start talking in another language with new people. Some students find themselves lost and give up in the first days. Some other students are open to new experiences and go through the personal transformation easily.
In my point of view, I found that it is the best way to adapt and it really works. Due to the big change, most of international students are slow learners with poor language and communication skills because of this total life change. In addition to that, they have a limited participation in class or conferences; also they cannot think critically, that is why they need help so badly. I personally went through those phases and I was in rough situations all the time. But after spending so much time learning from others, I realized that a hard life can make everybody mature enough and ready to start building the future step by step.
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