I recently read that being a foreigner is a full-time job. Foreigner is a word that comes from Old French: stranger. Strange What does strange mean? -ier, which means occupation or profession. Being a foreigner is the occupation of being a stranger.
Am Monica Ross and for two and a half years I have dedicated myself to being a foreigner in Spain, perhaps the job in which I have lasted the longest. I'll tell you what student life is like in Madrid.
Moving to another country is being far from everything you know, everything that is customary to you. Student life in Madrid involves hearing a different accent, constantly getting lost in everyday vocabulary and asking or changing my words because I'm too lazy to have to explain myself.
It's getting up while my family sleeps. It means missing many birthdays, a few weddings and three Christmases. Waking up longing for the sea and a hug from mom. It's feeling alone.
And loneliness is part of migration. Missing is part of being a stranger. But if you look closely, there are many people around you who are going through similar processes. I took a master en TAI and university life was a great help to adapt to a new country.
If this is your case, I encourage you to ask your university if there is a student service department.
En TAI There is Student Attention and Care Unit (UACA) which has a support service for university students.
Additionally, you can count on the Buddy Project, that seeks to facilitate the adaptation process of international students. A community of mentors from Latin American countries whom you can meet at meetings, face-to-face meetings and go virtually for consultation, help or support.
Community TAI It is an international community. There are students from all over the world. Students who come to regular programs such as those who come for Erasmus+ or Munde. It is a meeting point not only educational, but also artistic, cultural and social.
I met a lot of people who were in the same thing as me. We didn't miss the same thing, but we missed together.
It's also nice to miss, in one way or another you start to value things that perhaps you previously took for granted. It is normal to feel alone after going through a process of so many changes. It helped me a lot to respect my sad days. And sometimes, you just need a little cry to be able to continue.
Little by little you create new bonds and routines that make loneliness appear less and less often. You celebrate other birthdays and experience other Christmases. And one day you look back and realize that you have built, maybe you don't know exactly what, but you realize that it is also nice that the stuff they amaze you in colors, that people be maja.
