If it makes you feel any better, the surveillance state is always watching you.
You know you’re an adult when you realize that if you want to… you can just go buy a chainsaw.
It’s wild. You can straight up start drinking bleach without as much as an “Are you sure?” popup
A friendly tip from someone who did that and stayed abroad for 15 years: be active in meeting new friends and joining in activities. They will help a lot when homesickness hits. The first hit was normally around two months in for me and my fellow students, after the excitement of being in a new place has subsided a bit. It might take the whole thing from “wow, I’m all by myself” to “shit, I’m all by myself”. That will pass pretty soon. You’re capable of far more than you know, you got this.
The second hit is about two years in and carries more of a longing feeling. If you can, put money aside for a ticket to visit home by then. Good luck, and have fun! You’re about to have the time of your life.
I remember cooking a meal for the first time in my apartment and not having proper cookware, forgot to buy cutlery and only had a small bowl and thought “wtf am i doing?”
In a class on intercultural exchange we learned that most people who move abroad (semi-)permanently go through a U-shaped curve. Starting high with a Honeymoon phase, followed by a crisis/culture shock after about 2-3 months. And then a recovery and acceptance/adjustment/mastery/adaptation/whateveryouwannacallit phase. Many people also have this process repeating in waves.
Interestingly enough, people who go through the U curve once and come out the other side usually also experience the same curve when eventually moving back to their “original” country.
It’s less like a U and more like a wave whose amplitude gets less and less every time until you stabilize in your new country (the peaks and valleys get smaller and smaller). It does also repeat if you go back to your home country (reverse culture shock), but the frequency is less and the total stabilization time is lower because for the most part, your brain is relearning cultural cues the connections already exist for, with an allowance for cultural drift depending on how long you’ve been away.
Hit em’ with that exp(-x) sin(x)
Good advice here in the comments. Id like to add, set a routine and have a spot in your routine to see or do something new in your new city. Whether its trying a new restaurant or checking out a park or whatever. Just something small at a certain time of day/week that you can look forward to, that helps you feel more at home in the new place. The routine also helps me a lot to not feel aimless.
Heh, you felt safe with yout parents? How nice…
I couldn’t do that at 18 TBH. Good on you.
Just get a job. Plenty of narcisistic managers ready if not eager to supervise you
Until you f up too much and they throw the book at your. That’s how it works.
At my what? This is important to know.
Unsafe for who?
Their gut microbiota.
