When Your Erasmus Doesn’t Feel Like a Holiday (and Why That’s Okay)

I still remember the exact moment it hit me.

I was sitting on the floor of my tiny student room in Spain, surrounded by half-unpacked suitcases, eating cold paella straight from the plastic container. It was my third week abroad and I felt… miserable.

Everyone back home kept texting me “How’s the Erasmus dream?” with heart emojis, while I was quietly googling “how to survive homesickness.” The city was beautiful, the weather was perfect, but I felt overwhelmed, tired, and strangely lonely.

That was the first time I realized: Erasmus doesn’t always feel like a holiday. And that’s completely okay.

The Instagram vs Reality Gap

We’ve all seen the pictures — rooftop parties, perfect sunsets, new friends laughing in cafes. What we don’t see are the quiet moments: the confusion with bureaucracy, the days when you can’t understand the local accent, the wave of homesickness that hits at 2 a.m., or the exhaustion after trying to speak a foreign language all day.

During my own (and many of our students’) experiences abroad, these moments are incredibly common:

• Feeling overwhelmed by the new academic or work system
• Missing your family’s cooking and familiar routines
• Struggling to make deep connections (not just party friends)
• Doubting if you made the right choice
• Culture shock that comes in waves, even after the first month

If you’re currently on Erasmus, doing a language course, or an internship abroad and you’re not floating on cloud nine every single day — you are not failing. You’re simply having a real human experience.

Why It’s Okay (and Actually Good)

The truth is, the hardest parts of your time abroad often become the most valuable.

When everything feels easy and fun, you’re mostly a tourist. When things get uncomfortable — that’s when real growth happens.

I’ve spoken with hundreds of students who went through TravelEdventures programs, and almost all of them say the same thing looking back:

“The hardest moments taught me the most.”

You learn resilience. You learn how to solve problems in an unfamiliar environment. You discover how to manage your emotions when no one is there to comfort you in your native language. You build confidence that you can handle whatever life throws at you.

Those “non-holiday” days force you to grow in ways that perfect vacation days never could.

It’s Not Just You

Last month I received a message from Maria, a culinary student from Cyprus who did her internship in Serbia with us. She wrote:

“The first 10 days I cried almost every night. I missed home, the food tasted different, and I was so tired. But by the end of the second week I started feeling proud of myself. Now I miss Niška Banja more than I can explain.”

That’s the Erasmus journey. It’s rarely linear. It’s messy, emotional, challenging — and incredibly rewarding.

How to Survive (and Eventually Love) the Difficult Days

1. Allow yourself to feel it — Don’t fight the homesickness. Acknowledge it.

2. Create small routines — Your favorite morning coffee, Sunday video calls home, evening walks.

3. Find your people — Look for those who want real connections, not just party buddies.

4. Be kind to yourself — Some days you’ll explore the city. Other days you’ll stay in and watch Netflix in your native language. Both are fine.

5. Remember your “why” — You didn’t come just for fun. You came to grow, learn a language, gain experience, and become a stronger version of yourself.

Final Thoughts

If your Erasmus (or language course + internship) doesn’t always feel like a dream — it doesn’t mean something is wrong. It means you’re doing it right. You’re stepping out of your comfort zone, and that zone doesn’t disappear the moment you land in a new country.

The magic usually comes somewhere between week 4 and week 8, when you suddenly realize you can order food in another language, you’ve made friends from different countries, and you’ve handled situations you never thought you could.

And one day, when you’re back home, you’ll look back and realize those “difficult” weeks were actually the most important ones.

So if you’re in the middle of it right now and it feels heavy — breathe. You’re not alone. This is normal. This is part of the journey.

And it will be worth it.

Have you experienced this side of studying or working abroad? Share your story in the comments, sometimes just knowing others went through the same thing helps more than anything.

At TravelEdventures, we don’t just organize programs,  we support you through the beautiful, exciting, and sometimes challenging moments. Because we know that real growth happens outside the holiday bubble.

Thinking about your own Erasmus, language course, or internship abroad? Write to us. We’ll help you prepare not just for the amazing parts — but for the real, honest, life-changing experience.