Exchange at Penn Embracing My Year Abroad, an Adventure with an Expiration Date

Emma, one of the Exchange at Penn Correspondents, shares his experience abroad during the Spring 2023 semester. Follow along with the group of correspondents on our blog and look out for their images on the @pennabroad Instagram feed.

Some of the questions I get asked the most since moving to America are, 'Are you settling in
okay?', 'What's been your biggest culture shock?', or 'Aren't you going to be sad not going
home for Christmas?'. Funnily enough, I don't really have anything to answer these questions. I
haven't found it difficult to adjust to life here. I haven't had any unsettling surprises or felt a
hint of homesickness. I moved to a whole other continent halfway across the world at 22, the
same way I moved to Lyon, 4 hours away from my hometown at 18, and the same way I moved
to a boarding school an hour away at 15.

Coming from France, obviously, the East Coast of the United States is definitely not the most
exotic place I could have moved to. I just packed my bags and moved to a place a little bit
farther, where everything is a little bigger, a little more colorful, and a little more like life in the
movies.

When you move somewhere with the intention of having an experience, no expectations
whatsoever, and a completely open mind, you find that settling in is a lot easier. I don't go
looking for copies of what I know; I'm even surprised when I find L'Oréal shampoo in the store
or when I hear someone speak French on the street. I'm here to have Pop-Tarts for breakfast,
to order anything and everything from Amazon, and to learn the rules of American football.

So yes, I've had a seamless settling-in experience, no massive culture shocks, and I'm perfectly happy staying here over winter break. So much so that sometimes I forget that I'm here. I have
to remind myself that I live in America and that I'm studying abroad and living the life I'd been dreaming of for years. I always saw this year abroad as a way to take a break from my normal life, live 'an experience,' be a foreigner, discover things, be surprised, get out of my comfort zone, and even be a little uncomfortable sometimes. I always knew that simply moving places wasn't the way to reinvent yourself, revolutionize your life, and, to put it plainly, be happier. Instead, it's the intention that counts. While I feel like the luckiest person on Earth to be able to spend a year at Penn, I'm also overwhelmingly aware that this is an adventure with an expiration date. There's no 'I'll do it later' on a year abroad because who knows if I'll get the
opportunity again before the day I fly back home?

This is why my Google Calendar is filled to the brim with as many events, opportunities, and
experiences as possible. From the moment I picked up my PennCard at the front desk of my
college house, I knew I had to embrace the experience and immerse myself in life at Penn to
the fullest. There's so much to do. I've never been much of a social person, and although I still
like to hang out in my room, go to bed early, and study a bit too much, I often find myself
looking for things to do, events to attend, places to visit, and new people to meet. I've felt so
welcome here, easily striking up a conversation with a stranger and constantly running into
people I know on Locust Walk, waving hello to all the new friends I met at new student
orientation events, college house events, or in classes, or in line at Starbucks. People really are
friendly in America.

I have been here for a little over a month, and I can say so far, I feel that I have been making the
most of my time. I've been going to events and EAP excursions, joined a book club and a baking
club, attended talks, and watched a football game at Franklin Field, and there's still so much I
haven't done! I'm only even more excited for the months to come and the new opportunities to
fill my head with memories to look back on when I'm ready to go home.