Miss Independent… (not Kelly Clarkson)

I suppose part of the beauty of student life and what appeals to us, is the independence that comes with it. I know lots of people, who never really had much freedom while being in secondary school because their parents were quite strict and that includes many of my closer friends. I remember the frustration when they had to cancel on me because they were not allowed to go out and I also remember how excited they were when they talked about life after secondary school a.k.a. life away from home.

I’ll elaborate just a little on this because you should know that I am originally from Luxemburg and have double citizenship since my dad is Luxemburgish and my mum is Austrian. I finished my high school education in Luxemburg but it was clear from the start that I would not get my university degree there too. It’s not because Luxemburgish students are so capricious that they absolutely need to leave the country as soon as they graduate, it’s because there is only one university in Luxemburg and it was founded in 2003. As to organizational issues and the like, you can do the math. No one in their right mind would want to study there, or so I’ve been told.

With the situation being as it is, many students take the opportunity and leave the country as soon as possible and also try to get as far away as possible, which probably goes without saying. My best friend for example studies at the University of Montpellier in the south of France. That’s pretty far away from home, about 1000km. It’s not a trip you take every other weekend and it’s not a trip your parents regularly take, not even to check up on you as often as they can. The newfound independence is of course lovely and I would never begrudge anyone their luck to ‘get away’. Most of my friends were happy not to be controlled as much anymore and enjoyed not having to answer to anyone. I sometimes had and still have trouble relating because I never had these problems with my parents.

It’s true that I also left Luxemburg but I did because I wanted better education and also to be away for a while. I am saying ‘for a while’ on purpose because very few people leave Luxemburg for good and I definitely intend to go back. My parents also moved to Austria simply because my dad has retired by now and it’s my mum’s home. They both love it in Austria and while I am studying in Salzburg, they live a bit more than an hour away and close to the big skiing areas Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Zell am See and Kaprun/Kitzsteinhorn. I remember my friends being not-quite-but-close to gobsmacked when I told them that my parents lived that close to me, but then again I never had any problems with my parents to begin with.

I know this was quite a long intro to what I was getting. The thing is, studying abroad can be scary. At least it seems to me. I suppose it depends if you go abroad privately or if you participate in an exchange program. Being in a foreign country with a program such as Erasmus, AIFS or Bowling Green obviously gives you more security because you have coordinators and advisors to help you in case there are problems. You have to keep in mind though, that it isn’t the cheapest option when you consider the different expenses. According to some of the people from Bowling Green State University I met, a semester here in Salzburg costs up to 9000€ just to give you an idea. I am not an expert on the matter but it probably won’t be much cheaper the other way around with you spending a semester at BGSU.

All this was just to give you a general idea because I didn’t come to Austria with a program like the ones I mentioned above. I can’t rely on coordinators to sort things out for me when there are problems with admin or some such thing. The same goes for living expenses: I pay rent and do not have a ‘room and board’ option, where you can have three 'free' meals a day and a 'free' room. This means I might not pay as much money ecause I spend money on food as I go and as I need it, but I also have more bureaucratic business to take care of which can be annoying despite apparent ‘inter-governmental agreements’, that are supposed to make life easier but end up doing the opposite more often than not.

On top of that, one or the other mishap just happens every once in a while, even though I am not a klutz or even majorly accident-prone. In my first semester I fell down the stairs at university and was happy to just know that my parents were only a phone call and a one-hour-drive away in case I needed them. During the last week of Easter holidays, I had a more severe skiing accident and I probably would have gone into hysterics if I would have been all alone in a country far away from home. If you consider that Luxemburg is ‘only’ an eight-hour-drive away, things don’t seem so bad, but if you need immediate medical care or attention like I did and you have no one else but yourself to rely on, things can become frightening.

For me it’s also not only worrying about being on your own, even though that’s the biggest part, but it’s also the “smaller” things like insurance. My dad’s insurance covers mine because I am still under the age of 26 and don’t work. However my dad’s insurance is in Luxemburg and bureaucracy on Austrian and Luxemburgish sides makes things very tedious at times. When you have to take care of yourself and of this kind of paper work, stress is not far away, which in turn is not going to help you recouping. Plus, it’s also nice to be coddled when you feel bad after an accident and believe me I know what I’m talking about.

I also suppose not everyone is going to agree with me because if you never were in the situation I am in now, you obviously have a different point of view. I understand that because I also thought like that: “(Skiing)Accidents? Yeah right!” Not so long ago, I just tended to shake my head when new reports of even more skiing accidents were broadcasted. I am aware that that sounds horrible but the winter season is long and when you live close to these areas you are confronted with it literally every single day. You also tend to think that you’re above accidents because you’re a local and know how to ski without breaking every bone in your body, thank you very much. And now I know better. It can happen in the blink of an eye, and one moment of unawareness is sometimes all it takes for you to end up in pretty bad shape.

And if it does, if you’re looking at months full of follow-up appointments, being on your own is not all what it’s cracked up to be. I suppose I was lucky because if there is one advantage of living in a skiing-cum-tourist region where everything is ridiculously overpriced, it is that highly qualified and certified medical staff is remotely close by. But who drives you to appointments when you are high on pain killers and aren’t allowed behind the wheel? What do you do when public transport is close to non-existent and cabs are too expensive? How do you cope when you have to be put on a special diet and there are limitations to taking proper care of yourself? It’s all these things you never really think about until you are in that exact situation.

I know I painted a very negative picture but it seems that people sometimes tend to forget that accidents can happen extremely quickly. Of course, you can also be run over by a car while crossing the street, just to quote this old stereotype. However, that doesn’t erase the fact that independence is wonderful and liberating but also a double-edged sword. All in all I can say that I like studying abroad and it’s an opportunity everyone should grasp when the occasion arises. Just make sure you cover all your bases and take the right precautions. I can only advise you to take care of important issues such as insurance and health care well ahead of time just to be on the safe side.

If you plan on going abroad, stay safe and make sure you come back in one piece :)

Yours Truly,
Michelle