Alone but not Lonely
Didn't travel anywhere last weekend, which was honestly kind of nice. A lot of people try to go anywhere and everywhere when they're abroad which I totally understand, but since I've already been in Germany for about seven months, and I still have about four to go, I don't feel the time pressure that a lot of people do. Also, even though I'm on co-op, we're getting in to peak season and flights are getting wicked expensive. Long story short, didn't go anywhere last weekend, and not feelin' too guilty about it.
Something I do want to address, though, is the idea that when you're on co-op abroad, you're taking a huge jump into a new country, where you probably don't know anyone. This has been a bit hard for me, as I am not quick to make friends, and tend to be a little shy, but it has been a fantastic learning experience. I know that's what people say when things kinda suck, but I promise, things really don't suck that bad. And truthfully, I am getting to know who I am, and how I operate, which is pretty awesome.
While I was at the university in Reutlingen, Germany last semester, the loneliness thing was really tough for me, because I was at this new university where everyone was super into going out and getting drunk every weekend, and that really isn't me. Also, Reutlingen is a tiny town kind of in the middle of nowhere, which was also frustrating. AKA, last semester was tough.
This semester has (thankfully!) been totally different. A big part of that difference comes from the fact that I'm living in a semi-big city. There are more places to eat, explore and shop, and more people in general to interact with or at least be in the presence of. That's been a big thing for me too-- just getting out and being around people. Even if you're not interacting with random people off the street, just being around people can sometimes be uplifting, instead of sitting alone in your apartment.
Also, co-op in general makes me a lot busier than I was while in classes. I have to be at work from roughly 9-5 every day (meaning I'm interacting with lots of different people during that time), then I come home, eat, do errands, finish assignments for my online class, whatever, go to bed and repeat. Not the most riveting thing in the world, but honestly who's life is fun 24/7?? (If yours if, pls let me know, let's be friends.)
So the weekends are really the main time I need to fill with activities, and I think the trick to being alone but not lonely is reminding yourself that you can do literally whatever you want to, because it's just you! That takes a bit of mindset alteration, but once you get there, it's pretty great. Also, GET OUT. Even if it's just to the park, or to take a quick walk to the grocery store or whatever, do something! Anyone would be depressed after an entire weekend of sitting alone in their room (even though, let's be real, it does sound tempting--YES even in Europe, as I mentioned before, I'm not just gallivanting off to Italy every weekend). Trust me on this one, if I learned anything from last semester, it's to get your butt out of your room for at least an hour a day.
I think today is honestly a great example of what I'm trying to say here. I've been wanting to go back to Cologne ever since I went for Karneval (see previous post for that) and check out all the touristy stuff there, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Every weekend, I'm always pretty wiped from the work week, so I typically don't want to do much, unless I have a trip planned (I'm a planner, have I mentioned that yet?!). Today is no exception. I was on the tram to catch a train to Cologne, when it started to rain, and I realized I really didn't want to go to Cologne today, especially in the rain. The tram I was on also went through the downtown shopping area, so I changed my plans then and there. I spent the day shopping, drinking my favorite drink from Starbucks (my first Starbs in my whole time in Germany), eating currywurst and ice cream, and wandering around. An A+ day in my opinion.
And that's my whole point. Being abroad for co-op is honestly an amazing opportunity to get to know yourself (as ridiculously cheesy as that sounds), and spend every day doing exactly what you want to do. I'm not going to lie, I would love to have some of my friends from home join me here (and some will, stay tuned!!), and I, of course, sometimes get lonely, but my main point is to make sure those days are as few and far between as possible. It would be a shame to waste such a great opportunity.
Something I do want to address, though, is the idea that when you're on co-op abroad, you're taking a huge jump into a new country, where you probably don't know anyone. This has been a bit hard for me, as I am not quick to make friends, and tend to be a little shy, but it has been a fantastic learning experience. I know that's what people say when things kinda suck, but I promise, things really don't suck that bad. And truthfully, I am getting to know who I am, and how I operate, which is pretty awesome.
While I was at the university in Reutlingen, Germany last semester, the loneliness thing was really tough for me, because I was at this new university where everyone was super into going out and getting drunk every weekend, and that really isn't me. Also, Reutlingen is a tiny town kind of in the middle of nowhere, which was also frustrating. AKA, last semester was tough.
This semester has (thankfully!) been totally different. A big part of that difference comes from the fact that I'm living in a semi-big city. There are more places to eat, explore and shop, and more people in general to interact with or at least be in the presence of. That's been a big thing for me too-- just getting out and being around people. Even if you're not interacting with random people off the street, just being around people can sometimes be uplifting, instead of sitting alone in your apartment.
Also, co-op in general makes me a lot busier than I was while in classes. I have to be at work from roughly 9-5 every day (meaning I'm interacting with lots of different people during that time), then I come home, eat, do errands, finish assignments for my online class, whatever, go to bed and repeat. Not the most riveting thing in the world, but honestly who's life is fun 24/7?? (If yours if, pls let me know, let's be friends.)
So the weekends are really the main time I need to fill with activities, and I think the trick to being alone but not lonely is reminding yourself that you can do literally whatever you want to, because it's just you! That takes a bit of mindset alteration, but once you get there, it's pretty great. Also, GET OUT. Even if it's just to the park, or to take a quick walk to the grocery store or whatever, do something! Anyone would be depressed after an entire weekend of sitting alone in their room (even though, let's be real, it does sound tempting--YES even in Europe, as I mentioned before, I'm not just gallivanting off to Italy every weekend). Trust me on this one, if I learned anything from last semester, it's to get your butt out of your room for at least an hour a day.
I think today is honestly a great example of what I'm trying to say here. I've been wanting to go back to Cologne ever since I went for Karneval (see previous post for that) and check out all the touristy stuff there, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Every weekend, I'm always pretty wiped from the work week, so I typically don't want to do much, unless I have a trip planned (I'm a planner, have I mentioned that yet?!). Today is no exception. I was on the tram to catch a train to Cologne, when it started to rain, and I realized I really didn't want to go to Cologne today, especially in the rain. The tram I was on also went through the downtown shopping area, so I changed my plans then and there. I spent the day shopping, drinking my favorite drink from Starbucks (my first Starbs in my whole time in Germany), eating currywurst and ice cream, and wandering around. An A+ day in my opinion.
And that's my whole point. Being abroad for co-op is honestly an amazing opportunity to get to know yourself (as ridiculously cheesy as that sounds), and spend every day doing exactly what you want to do. I'm not going to lie, I would love to have some of my friends from home join me here (and some will, stay tuned!!), and I, of course, sometimes get lonely, but my main point is to make sure those days are as few and far between as possible. It would be a shame to waste such a great opportunity.
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