“Where are you from?” was a question that left me puzzled during my time studying abroad at the London School of Economics last summer. To Americans, I lived in San Diego. To Indians, I was from Gujarat, a vibrant state in western India. Truthfully, I didn’t know the answer. I felt more American when I could effortlessly converse about pop culture and TV shows, and more Indian when I refused to let go of certain cultural ideals. Both places saw different stages of my life — one was where I was raised, while the other was where I moved away for college and finally became my own person — making it hard to choose which one felt more like home.

Every day as an international student is spent studying abroad, and moving to London was just another iteration of what I had been doing for years. As an international student who studied abroad, here’s my advice on navigating identity and everyday life in another new country.

1. Learn to exist in the in-between

When I moved to San Diego, my desire to fit in forced me to construct a version of my identity that aligned with the culture surrounding me. In London, that disappeared overnight. Suddenly, everyone around me wasn’t as friendly as they were in America, their mood graying with the weather. I felt lost among people whose social rhythms I had no map for.

As international students, our identities are a layered mix of the cultures that have shaped us. My first mistake in a new place was trying to fit myself into people’s categories of what is considered “normal.” However, I have learned that the pressure you feel to be socially perfect is rarely a pressure others are placing on you. Stop code-switching to make others comfortable; embrace your unique in-betweenness and let people meet you in your most eccentric form. For me, this happened when I stopped viewing my accent as a source of embarrassment and didn’t mold it based on the environment I was in.

2. Get comfortable exploring new areas on your own

The most important quality you gain from a life spent traveling is becoming comfortable with your own company. Being in a new place comes with countless worthwhile experiences that are wasted if you are stuck waiting for others.

One weekend in London, The Black Pig’s sandwiches had taken over my TikTok feed, and I was desperate to try one. However, everyone I knew had already visited. I decided not to let that stop me and went alone. Once I pushed past my discomfort, I realized how freeing it was to be in my own company and found myself enjoying my time.

The fear of being perceived as lonely is something that almost every international student carries. As someone who grew up in a culture where eating alone in public is taboo, the revelation that everyone was indifferent to my solo presence came as a shock. Don’t let the cultural expectations you grew up with define your study abroad experience. My advice is to make a list of things you want to do and commit to doing at least one of them alone. Lean into the anonymity of being in a new city and make the most of what it has to offer, even if you have to do it by yourself.

3. Do your research beforehand

The hyperindependence you adopt as an international student often comes with a refusal to ask for help. This restraint resulted in me spending my first three weeks living one hour away from my university in London. I endured endless bus delays and rain-drenched walks to class before I finally asked for help and switched my accommodations.

Use your previous experience of figuring out life in a new country — including your ability to start from scratch, navigate complex processes, and adapt to diverse customs — as an asset to make your study abroad experience smoother. My biggest tip is to reach out and talk to people who’ve already been there, so you can save yourself the unnecessary stress and chaos of figuring things out on your own. Universities also have resources for international students to help navigate moving abroad. If you are applying through the University of California Education Abroad Program, the predeparture resource section of its application advising page is extremely helpful.