My expectations

What do I even expect from my months abroad?

I expect to learn a lot from my voluntary service abroad, like coping on my own, gaining work experience and developing better social skills. I think of it as a new chapter of life, a new experience, in which I will grow as a person and come out of my comfort zone. I also want to use it as an opportunity to move on from things that were ballast for me throughout my years of highschool and as a chanco to grow into to the person I genuinely am and want to be. Every one of my friends told me, that those ten months away from everything will help me grow and move on so much.

Of course, I am also really keen on meeting new people from all over the world and having international friends. I want to broaden my horizons and think way more internationally and cross-boarders. I think it will be an experience of a lifetime, as I hope to learn so much more about not only myself and my abilities, but also other cultures and lifestyles.

Another thing is that I want to learn more about who I am and who I want to be. I'm quite sure that there are some skills inside of me that I have never known I had. I am curious to become more mature and open-minded throughout the process!

Nevertheless, it will be a gigantic challenge for me. I have never been away from home for more than 2 weeks, and that was for scout camp. I have never been travelling alone either. Leaving all of my family and friends in Austria, going somewhere I have never been before and living with people I have never met before is a quite scary thought. In addition to that, I am always overthinking things and am also quite anxious about me and my appearance, so I am very interested in how my mind will adapt to this new life standard. I will be sad, indeed, but it always seems impossible until it's done, right?