{"id":802,"date":"2025-01-17T15:52:28","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T20:52:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/?p=802"},"modified":"2025-01-17T15:53:59","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T20:53:59","slug":"navigating-study-abroad-friendships-that-require-passports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/2025\/01\/17\/navigating-study-abroad-friendships-that-require-passports\/","title":{"rendered":"Navigating Study Abroad: Friendships that Require Passports"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Selfie<\/a>Written by: Annamarie Kushnir\u00a0 |\u00a0 Spring 2024
\nISEP Exchange: Johannes Kepler Universit\u00e4t, Linz, Austria<\/p>\n

Servus<\/em>!<\/p>\n

Renowned as the birthplace of classical musical legends such as Mozart and Wolfgang, the origin of Redbull, and the notorious wiener schnitzel dish, Austria became my home for five months. After the previous restless semester of my junior year, I was exhilarated to pack my bags and move 4,651 miles to Austria\u2019s third most-populated city, Linz. Austria seemed to have everything I desired: music, nature, caf\u00e9 culture, and fashion. Friendship, however, would be a challenge to tackle on my own.<\/p>\n

\"Annamarie<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

As someone who didn\u2019t normally step away from their comfort zone, the sea of strangers made me anxious, however, I decided to finally break the barrier of unfamiliarity and forge new acquaintances with my fellow peers (as well as some furry friends), which turned out to be one of the best decisions I made during my study abroad experience. I connected with individuals from every corner of the globe (literally!), such as Kenya, Australia, Thailand, Mexico, India, Italy, and more. As someone who expresses a significant interest in cultural and historical studies, meeting people from various backgrounds fascinated me. I still remember the deep, late-night communal kitchen conversations with friends, reminiscing about our hometowns, while indulging in a steaming cup of authentic Pakistani chai tea. My advice? For many individuals, studying abroad is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, offering much more than travel. It is a wonderful opportunity to create meaningful global connections and acquire variance in perspective, sculpted by regional and cultural differences. Looking back, there were instances when I found myself preoccupied with how individuals perceived me, whether that be from my actions or attire, but one must always remember that true friendship prevails over judgment.\"Annamarie<\/a><\/p>\n

While in Austria, I discovered that the country\u2019s lively outdoor culture facilitated personal connection and eased the awkwardness that typically arises from introductory, surface-level conversations. During the day, endless rows of stores offer various opportunities for shopping (and discovering one of the best ice cream places!). One can see the Alps tower over the Austrian landscape in just a thirty-minute tram ride,\u00a0which is ideal for ski trips and mountain getaways. In the nighttime, caf\u00e9s bustle with energy as people enjoy their evening meals. There are always fun activities to plan here!<\/p>\n

While making new, international friends is an exciting experience and an important component during one\u2019s time abroad, one must not forget to give oneself time to adapt and slowly integrate. So remember to take your time and get well-adjusted.<\/p>\n

\"Annamarie<\/a>That being said, I am very grateful for the friendships I\u2019ve made along this journey. It taught me that even though we live in a polarized world, human connectedness interlaces people from diverse backgrounds to create unique relationships. While I\u2019ve only lived in Austria for two months, I\u2019m eager to see what other opportunities await and people to meet!<\/p>\n

As the Austrians would say,<\/p>\n

Tsch\u00fcss!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by: Annamarie Kushnir\u00a0 |\u00a0 Spring 2024 ISEP Exchange: Johannes Kepler Universit\u00e4t, Linz, Austria Servus! Renowned as the birthplace of classical musical legends such as Mozart and Wolfgang, the origin of Redbull, and the notorious wiener schnitzel dish, Austria became … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9196996,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9196996"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=802"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":809,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802\/revisions\/809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}