Feeling lonely and isolated in new college

LegacyUser

I moved to another country in Europe to do a semester in college a week ago and I'm having a tough time. I am living in an an apartment complex full of other international students and there are no other Irish students here as far as I know.

The problem is that the other students tend to stick to people from their own countries, for example French with French, Spanish with Spanish and so on. I can understand this as its only natural for them to want to talk to other people in their native language. (The common language among everyone is English as it is a requirement for studying at the college as an international student.) However this means that I'm finding it tough to make friends as everyone seems to be in their own little cultural groups. My housemate is a girl from a country in Eastern Europe and while she is nice, she is also sticking with girls from her country. ( We did hang out today for a while but I'm worried that tomorrow she'll be off with the other girls again.)

As a result of this I'm finding myself on my own a lot which is making me miserable because I'm a sociable person who likes being around friends. I feel so bad I'm on the verge of going home. I know I should try and stick it out for longer in case the situation improves but the isolation is making me really miserable, I don't know how much more of it I can take. I feel like I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown. If anyone has any advice or has been in a similar situation I would appreciate any replies.

!!!

Hey

I was in a very similar situation, more than once... I really would try and stick it out (easier said than done) as it will be worth it, and think of it this way - do you think you will regret not going home early? No, you won't. But you might regret going home early...

Still though, it's no fun when you're in isolation. My highlight of being in a new particular country was going on facebook chat and talking to my friends at home, I was just so lonely... what's the point in being there for that?

Are they any English/Americans you can hang out with?

No advice really...! Are there any social networking sites you could make friends from?

Hope it works out

LegacyUser

I am in a similar situation (though not a student), I'm currently living in Germany and finding it tough to meet people to hang out with. I've tried a number of things, and although they haven't exactly worked out for me, they might for you!

1. Go to every event that you are invited to!

2. Is there a online forum for english speakers in your area? In Germany there is a great site called toytowngermany . com where people can chat and arrange meetups

3. Look on Couchsurfing . org - In my area there is a group that often arranges meetups and outings. You can view profiles of people in your area and see references from other people they have met up with.

4. Get a tandem partner - The uni here allows you to register as someone who is looking to exchange their native language - maybe there is something like that in your school?

5. Go to the Irish pub

Best of luck OP, it sucks being lonely.

Neyite

Could you suggest a party /BBQ to get to know the others a bit better?

What you might find is that although they are from the same culture, thats no guarantee that they will get on after a few months in each others pockets. When I was abroad with a bunch of Irish, there was one girl who quickly became a pain, so we started to hang out with other people.