Studying Abroad: The Hidden Truth

Hey, welcome to the EU StudyAssist blog. This isn’t your typical study tips corner. Think of this space as a warm couch, where you get real talk about life, growth, the beauty and the chaos of being far from home, and everything in between.

Let’s talk about something that doesn’t always make it into the glossy brochures or Instagram reels: feeling lonely abroad.

Not just the “I miss my family” kind of lonely. I’m talking about the kind of loneliness that wraps itself around you even when classmates, or people with the same skin colour, or the same religion, surround you.

When I moved abroad, I wasn’t just far from home; I was far from everything I had ever known. My language. My food. My people. The streets I understood. The inside jokes. The rhythm of life I had grown into. At some point, I felt like I had to leave pieces of myself behind just to survive.

It felt like I was betraying my roots in order to blend in. Not greeting people on the train became normal. Not talking to strangers. No more long chats at the corner store with someone you’d never met before. You learn to keep your head down, wear headphones because that’s what people do. And to be honest, listening to music from home became a lifeline—a way to remind myself that not all of me was lost. That somewhere inside, I was still me.

Adapting is a skill. It’s a beautiful thing. But it comes with a cost.

Here’s the good: it pushes you forward. It stretches you. It teaches you how to ride the wave you’ve been given instead of drowning in it.

But here’s the hard truth: sometimes adapting means doing things you never thought you’d have to do. Like scrubbing toilets for people who don’t even look you in the eye, and swallowing your pride because you desperately need to pay rent while applying for something better.

My experiences while living abroad shaped me in more ways than I thought possible—but it also cracked me open.

I learned that being alone and being lonely are not the same thing. I could be sitting in a crowded lecture hall and still feel like I was floating outside of it all, invisible.

What helped me? Finding my circle.

Not just classmates. Not just people from my country. But people who saw me. People who were also figuring it out, just like me.

Who knew what it was like to miss your mom’s cooking so much you’d jump in excitement (well, at least in your head) at the sight of an African store with vegetables and spices from home. People who missed the quiet mornings on the homestead, walking barefoot on grass warmed by the morning sun. The feel of the sun hitting your skin, something almost non-existent in European winters. The sound of birds, of trees dancing in the wind.

A circle like that? It’s more than friendship. It’s a family-away-from-family.

Try to find people to explore and have adventures with, take walks on a random Wednesday, experience the firsts together, your first snow, first warm croissant, first homesick cry. Go to church, have deep conversations, laugh until your stomach hurts (because honestly, we all need that at any point in life). I think you know what I’m getting at. Try to live. Embrace the new country, the change, the culture shock, the awkwardness, the tiny wins. And most importantly, try to do things that make you feel like you again

At EU StudyAssist, we know the international student experience isn’t just about fees and forms. It’s about identity, survival, and belonging. So this blog is here for all of it—real stories, gentle guidance, hard-won advice, and a reminder that you’re not alone.

We’re building a community that gets it. One post at a time.