<p>Is it normal not to knowing anyone in your program?</p>
<p>I'm currently in the application process for two separate study abroad programs and I'm a little apprehensive. I'm apprehensive because I don't know anyone? Is this at least normal?</p>
<p>Yeah, definitely.</p>
<p>Totally. I was the only person from my school who studied abroad in my town, and I actually wasn’t even on a program at all; I just directly enrolled in the school! I actually thought it was AWESOME to not know anyone because I met a huge group of amazing and totally new people.</p>
<p>My daughter didn’t know anyone in her program or have anyone else from her school there.</p>
<p>What are you apprehensive about? No one else will likely have classmates either so you will be all in it together.</p>
<p>It’s good to know that other people truly didn’t know anyone else. </p>
<p>I’m apprehensive about not knowing anybody…going on a plane with people I don’t know…This trip will be the first time I will be only with people I don’t know. </p>
<p>I have a midl case of social anxiety. I guess I just need some reassurance that what I’ll be going through is normal.</p>
<p>I have a daughter on a study abroad program right now, and even knowing someone, she felt a lot of anxiety like you, too. However, once accepted, the program set up a FB page, and she started making friends before she even took off in August. She has made some very good friends on her program. She was very anxious, though, too. I’m here to send some reassurance your way. Be proud for applying and wanting to experience a piece of your education in a different country. Kudos to you!</p>
<p>My daughter is 15 and a HS sophomore. She is going to study in Spain next semester. The program told her they purposely place one student in each high school, so that kids don’t band together and miss out on the immersion process. My daughter doesn’t know anyone at all. I think I’m more nervous than she is!</p>
<p>Isn’t the whole point of study abroad to expand your horizon?</p>
<p>Silly me! I myself went abroad not knowing anyone (well, kind of; first I started babysitting former neighbors’ kids from the states, but that didn’t last too long)… I didn’t even know the LANGUAGE of the country I was in. However, I survived, made friends, moved into a dorm at a university, had fun in classes, learned a lot of a new language, culture, etcetera, just like GMTplus7 and MainLonghorn are saying. However, I don’t want to dismiss the OP’s anxiety. In my experience, it is very normal to be anxious. I remember that feeling myself during my gap year abroad, and I definitely saw it in my daughter during her application process for her program this year and during the time leading up to departure/settling in during the first week. She is having the time of her life, though.</p>