Travelling overseas is a way that can help you gain and learn new perspectives and experiences of life. Journeys are filled with surprises and unexpected deviations which can take you on a path you may not have thought you would take. Therefore, when I think of my experience with travelling, I can't help thinking of a quote by Danny Kaye that says: "To travel is to take a journey into yourself".
As for me, contributing to the decision to study abroad wasn't a first choice option after I experienced hardship while studying in TU as well as working as a primary school teacher in Kathmandu. I was of the opinion that I would not want to leave the country however, things does not happen as you think or want it to be. Out of desperation I decided to try my luck abroad and started preparing for it.
I have never been overseas until the summer of June 2013. In my life, I have gone on many memorable and outstanding trips via buses and trains, but it was the first time I left my country and travelled abroad in an airplane or to say to another continent.
Before the journey started, I packed my luggage and bags a week early in order to prepare for the trip and not missing anything. I was thrilled like a small child who was going to buy a new toy. When the day finally came, I was extremely nervous about the flight because I haven't traveled on a plane before for a long distance. We ( Dad, brother in law and my friend— Binod) arrive at the airport before one hour of the flight departure because we didn't know how long could take with the security procedures and inspections and most importantly the traffic of Kathmandu. The flight prolonged and took about 18 hours in total to fly to our destination, Brisbane airport in Australia.
I was all excited and happy that I was granted a visa to study in James Cook University, Australia.
Spending time working in Townsville was a lonely and tough experience, but I’m for the life lessons I learned. It often feels like you can’t criticize your own year abroad – no one wants to hear that, actually, it was terrible. Perhaps that must be the reason I realized why many of my friends returned home from overseas saying they “had suuuch an amazing time”. Maybe they’re pretending, I don’t know. But I do know that my stay in Townsville wasn’t what I’d had in mind.
What nobody tells you about studying abroad. Despite my best efforts, to survive I couldn’t wait for it to end and come November, after five long months, I boarded the plane to Sydney crying tears of happiness.
However, it’s taken me a while to realize that I wouldn’t have it any other way. I wouldn’t do it all over again, but I certainly wouldn’t change it. It was tough, but I learned some serious life lessons. I had to grow up and learn quickly how to rely on myself. I learned that things don’t always go the way you expect or want. I had time to think about what I was doing with my life and what I wanted to get out of my overseas degree.
For many others, too, a terrible year abroad can turn into a positive, character-building experience. Expectations and reality are two different poles or things that can only be realized when you know what you’re going through right now at that point in time. Before I actually arrived in Australia I had a very different view of what I could do with the time spent in the country.
The thought of returning back home also crept in my mind, would not lie to be honest, I was caught between the two— my heart and my mind, was in a dilemma however, after deep contemplation I decided to stay firm and fight my way through this process of difficulties. I quite felt like a VS Naipaul character Ralph Singh from the novel “The Mimic Men” where the main protagonist finds himself in his own words, “contemplating the shipwreck which I have sought to avoid all my life” to impose order on a chaotic existence. I wanted to remain firm accepting the hardship full of struggles and challenges and thought of spending the year in Townsville in a dark and lonely room of disruptive people in the space of indifference. I felt so lonely, depressed and realized that my life would ruin because of the way things were going but then I found out that the only way to get back is through survival mode and I just couldn’t do anything about it.
Banding together is something I can relate to, as it’s what I did with my friend Ganesh Bhusal. For him though, the year was always going to be much harder. It was his first time moving away from home and it wasn’t the easiest transition for him either. We both shared a good comradery and hung out together everywhere in a push bike in the scorching sun from dropping resume to look for jobs to the strand (beach) to the University and to eat 20 cent ice cream from Mac Donald. We literally went around to the city centre everyday, sat in the bench near the bridge watching the river flowing underneath in her own way without any complaint she accepts every hurdle, obstacles that comes along her way. It reminds me of the line from the poem, "The Brook", most notable for its use of refrain by Tennyson, " For men may come and men may go, But I go on for ever", which captures both the fleetingness of human life and the constancy of nature. I thought we should all take inspiration from her and accept that our trouble and sorrows will also be swept away by the passage of time.
I definitely learned more from having a tough time than I would have if it had all been easy, I had to learn fast and grow up quickly. It was hard but I’m a better person for it now. The culture and language barrier soon became too much to comprehend. It does take little time to get used to the language especially the Aussie slangs for the words that are spoken by the people, and the cultural differences between those who speak English and those who don’t understand the meaning.
Loneliness sunk in and with the loneliness came my depression. It was the deepest, darkest depression I’d ever felt. I sought help from resources —friends and forced myself to eat and sleep as normal, demonstrating how the isolation and loneliness of being alone in a foreign country can make you realize your own capabilities and strengths. For me, this was the greatest thing I took from my year – realizing that no matter how bad it got, I had the strength to pick myself up. I’m not saying that if you have a great year then you don’t learn anything. I’m still jealous of all the adventures and travelling my friends reminisce about.
But a disastrous time abroad gave me the boost I needed to stop taking the opportunities I have for granted. I spent a long time feeling like I’d wasted what was supposed to be one of the best years of my life, until I realized that was only because I was comparing it to other people’s experiences. That year was the best thing that could have happened to me. So if you’ve recently started your year abroad, remember to take it as it comes – appreciate the experience you’re having, without comparing it to everyone else’s. In this context I would like to quote Charlie Chaplin who said “ Nothing is permanent in this world, not even our troubles”.
Every day is a new day and it brings you new challenges and opportunities for your future. Life is a like a movie with a lot of characters and stories that can change in the next few years as the story develops into something more interesting and exciting for your career. Believe me some days it will be sad but others may be happy, interesting and exciting, but if you don’t take the chance or never accept the reality and experience, you’ll never know what life has in store for you. It’s a journey that will take you through the process and the challenges of life in general but you can always take a chance to make it better for yourself.
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