Beer Mug by Derek Key, on Flickr
Students only study abroad so they can have an easy class schedule and get drunk every night. Is this statement offensive to you? At GoAbroad, we die a little every time we hear it. It is a reality, though, of some students treating studying abroad like an extended spring break instead of a cultural learning experience. Please don't be one of those students.
We aren't here to lecture and tell you that drinking is bad; it isn't. Drinking abroad doesn't make you a horrible person, it just makes you a person. We merely want to give you a reminder that there's more to studying abroad than drinking. In fact, some of the best moments abroad come from those nights you took it easy. Here are six benefits of staying sober:
1. You will be prepared to explore the next day
Drinking is fun, but hangovers are not. Don't miss out on exploring your host country because you drank too much the night before. Not only will the alcohol make you feel terrible, but so will the fact that you missed out on zip-lining through a rain forest in Costa Rica. If you want to go out and drink, go for it. In some countries, having a pint of beer or glass of wine is considered part of the local experience. Just don't get obliterated every night. There is a difference between social drinking and binge drinking, even though in college the two can seem interchangeable.
2. You will have a larger variety of experiences
Even clubbing in Japan becomes lame if you do it every night. You are in a different country. Who knows if you'll ever get the chance to travel there again. Embrace it! Treat every night like it's your last night in that country. One night it actually will be, and you don't want every memory to take place in a bar. Explore restaurants, go to a concert, find a nearby fair or festival. Even looking in on a country's night life as a sober outsider can be an incredibly entertaining and educational experience that doesn't result in a hangover.
3. You will get out of your comfort zone more often
If you're shy or in an uncomfortable situation, drinking is one viable option to help you loosen up. But if you always use alcohol in these types of situations, you'll never learn how to deal with the discomfort and become a less awkward person. By taking a break from the booze, you'll be forced out of your comfort zone and wind up gaining more from your study abroad experience in the end.
4. You won't be a walking stereotype
If you are from a country that is stereotyped as loud, obnoxious, and heavy drinkers, getting wasted every night won't help improve the image of your nation. It also won't improve the image of study abroad students. You won't win over the locals, as many cultures look down on people who get blatantly drunk in public. Even countries that are known for alcohol consumption, such as Germany, find public drunkenness distasteful. Aside from this, embarrassing and offensive statements are more likely to escape from your mouth if you're tanked.
5. You will be safer
It's easy to make bad decisions when you're drunk; this is how 24-hour fast food restaurants stay in business. When you're abroad, decisions can lead to much worse outcomes than eating ten tacos. You could be taken advantage of, robbed, or led into even worse situations by people who know you're from a different country. When you do drink, always keep on eye on your beverage and stay with at least one person you know. Sometimes it's safer to take a break from the drinking scene.
6. You will remember being abroad
What's the point of studying abroad if half of your memories are hazy? You can drink anywhere, but you can only experience the culture and history of your host country in that country. Again, we aren't saying that alcohol is the root of all evil. Please go out, get a drink, and have some fun! Just keep in mind that drinking is only a drop in an ocean of studying abroad experiences. If that last sentence was too cliche to process, just remember that there's more to the world than alcohol.
What do you think? Are study abroad students wrongfully stereotyped? How much of the study abroad experience includes alcohol?
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