{"id":955,"date":"2026-06-05T15:51:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/?p=955"},"modified":"2026-06-05T15:51:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:51:09","slug":"take-a-hike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/2026\/06\/05\/take-a-hike\/","title":{"rendered":"Take\u00a0a\u00a0Hike\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by: Jessie Gross | Fall 2024
\nIFSA Tech Career Accelerator \u2013 Prague, Czech Republic<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout a study abroad experience, it\u2019s common to experience the following emotions:<\/span><\/p>\n

-\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f Excitement through exploring a new culture and making friends<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

-\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f Homesickness for the familiar routines, people, and foods<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

-\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f Independence built through self-sufficiency<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

-\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f Overwhelm by navigating a different culture and language\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

-\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f Accomplishment by meeting challenges that arise\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

-\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f Sadness and nostalgia for the lifestyle built abroad when returning to home<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\"Jessie<\/a><\/span>Some \u201clower\u201d feelings can have side effects, like loneliness and a lack of motivation. When I traveled alone or had a set routine,\u00a0a strong sense\u00a0of independence made it hard to connect with my family and friends at home.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When dealing with these emotions,\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0simply\u00a0take a walk.\u00a0Aside from the health benefits\"Selfie<\/a> walking actually provides (physical activity releases endorphins and neurotransmitters in the brain that improve mood and reduce stress), walking gets you out. When I was excited about my home city, I would walk to new areas before doing any research.\u00a0This\u00a0exploring\u00a0is so much more organic and fun.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On days when I felt unmotivated in schoolwork and exploration, I would jump on the bus,\"View<\/a> ride a few stops until I was in an unfamiliar neighborhood, and walk around. Sometimes I would make a game out of it \u2013 walk until I found a bar with my favorite beer or a caf\u00e9 serving a pain au chocolat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Taking a walk always cured my loneliness. When experiencing homesickness, I would walk\u00a0around my neighborhood, find something that reminded me of someone at home, snap a picture, and send it to them. This would instantly make me feel less alone in a new culture and allow me to connect my home life with my\u00a0abroad life, two things that sometimes felt impossible to intersect.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Studying abroad brings a whirlwind of emotions, and taking a walk helps mitigate these emotions and builds a deeper connection with your surroundings, allowing you to create memories and gain perspective. Every emotion is part of the journey, and with self-care, the experience becomes even richer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\"View<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by: Jessie Gross | Fall 2024 IFSA Tech Career Accelerator \u2013 Prague, Czech Republic Throughout a study abroad experience, it\u2019s common to experience the following emotions: -\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f Excitement through exploring a new culture and making friends\u00a0 -\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f Homesickness for … 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-955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/955","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=955"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1007,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/955\/revisions\/1007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}