How to stay connected with family and friends while studying Abroad

Maintain Contact with People While Studying Abroad

Are you thinking about going to a foreign country to study but are concerned that you might not be able to communicate with your loved ones back home? It's simpler than ever to stay current and maintain your relationships back home with a little forethought and the aid of technology. Here are some tested strategies that are used to stay in touch with loved ones while studying abroad.

1. Keeping in touch with family and friends while studying abroad by posting about your life on social media

 

It's simple to have a full academic and social schedule while studying abroad because you'll meet new people and make friends, but keep in mind to schedule regular time for video calls and chat sessions with your family and loved ones back home. After all, while you're studying abroad, you'll want to keep in touch with your loved ones and new international friends. While you're away, your family can still stay up to date on your daily activities through video chats or group chats on WhatsApp or iMessage. Another nice way to stay in touch with everyone back home while you're away is to allow your family and friends to follow you on social media sites like Instagram. Your safety while studying abroad will also be a concern for your parents and friends. This will be a great way to download widely used local chat apps and add your family there in situations where the connections from abroad are unstable. Additionally, you could connect your family members with your closest friends in the host nation using apps like WhatsApp so they can still contact you in an emergency.

It's important to remember that some nations might have restrictions on specific chat apps, so it's best to do your research on which ones are permitted before downloading. Additionally, it's always a good idea to have backup communication channels available, such as phone calls or email, in case the internet is completely down..

2. When studying abroad, you should calculate and remember the time zone difference.

While you're studying abroad in a different time zone, it can be more difficult to stay in touch with loved ones. Either you'll receive messages from well-meaning family members or you'll run the risk of waking them up. Maintaining one of your electronic devices, like a laptop or tablet, on your hometown's time zone until you adjust is one way to help your body adjust to the time difference. If you still find that to be confusing, try making it a habit to check the time zones around the world on your mobile device. This will come in handy as you maintain contact with your international friends who are also studying abroad in the future. The most convenient time for people in different time zones is typically on the weekends.

Setting up a schedule that works for everyone and being adaptable with the timing of your conversations are important. Utilizing video chat platforms can also help you overcome distance and improve the intimacy of your conversations.

 

3. Deliver postcards to them from your location

We are aware of how out dated it seems to use snail mail. But don't you experience some happiness when a close friend or member of your family sends you a handwritten note? By sending postcards, you can add a personal touch and share a small memento of your experiences. You can stay in touch with loved ones back home while studying abroad by exchanging stories and memorable moments with them. If you send your loved ones postcards from national parks, museums, and historic towns and cities with a few lines from you about a humorous experience or small discovery, they will feel like they are travelling with you. A wonderful, heartfelt way to stay in touch with your family and let them know how much you love and miss them while you are away at school is to send them postcards from your host country that include details about your study abroad experiences.

4. Keep a blog while studying abroad to let family and friends know about your experiences.

Studying abroad will always give you some worthwhile experiences. The most devoted readers of your travel blog will be your family and friends back home who will follow along as you discover a new place, make lifelong friends, and perhaps even live vicariously through all of the delectable foods and exotic scenery. While studying abroad, many students start travel blogs, but few continue them the entire time because they get too busy to update them. Even when you're pressed for time, getting grandma to join Facebook and dad to create an Instagram account can be great ways to make sure everyone is included.

By doing this, students can update those back home on their adventures and share their experiences with them. Additionally, it makes it possible for loved ones to feel closer to the student's international experience.

 

5. While studying abroad, don't forget to make plans for your home country.

It's simple to get caught up in the excitement of studying abroad and neglect to make plans with your family and friends back home. If you're spending a significant amount of time studying abroad, you can plan trips home, invite your loved ones to visit you in your new country, or travel somewhere new with them. It's common to miss loved ones while studying, and having a plan in place is a great way to stay in touch with them and stop missing home while studying abroad. Plan homecoming festivities with your loved ones so that you can catch up as a semester, year, or longer draws to a close.

To stay in touch, you might also think about scheduling regular video calls or sending each other care packages. Even while studying abroad, it's critical to keep these connections strong.