Student life at SBCC (Antonio Monteiro)

1. Relationships

One of the main things that you're going to realize that is different once you move away from home, is the development of new relationships. As soon as you get here, you won't have any attachments to people, which therefore might boil some loneliness and homesickness inside of you. But don't think that you're the only one that has faced these issues, it is more normal than you imagine! Sometimes could be difficult to make new friendships in the beginning, primarily if you're international, since the language could be a barrier at first. I highly recommend that you sign up in a club, sport, or even seek to meet some veteran people that are from your country in the begging, this could be helpful to make new friends and connect with people, because we're social creatures, and by not having any relationships you could get on a rut of being depressed or sad with your choice, believe me, because I've been there.

One thing that I advise against, however, is to close yourself with your nationality. I do know a lot of Brazilians, Chinese, Swedish, etc. that normally only hang out with people from their own country.

By doing that you're missing a lot of important lessons on learning how to deal with differences, understanding how relationships work in different cultures, and of course, improving your English skills. In other words, you're missing out on a lot.

2. Education and Career Opportunities

This comes in two ways, academic education and cultural education. People here are different from your country, and therefore, they act and talk differently. This could be an issue if you're not open to learning from them how to properly interact, but if openness to new experiences is a part of who you are, it won't hurt to learn their culture, because you can teach them yours also.With regards to academic studies, the educational system is something that most people struggle in the begging, on my previous blog post I've shared some advice on how to cope with that, I believe you should check it out.

Talking about professional life, career is something that is going to be a bit challenging here. Unfortunately, our visa allows working on campus or in an internship mediated by the college. At the same time that this could limit you, it could also force you to look for new alternatives to develop yourself professionally.

Nowadays with social media, the internet, and this huge amount of connections and knowledge that you can make, there could be a possibility of developing a unique set of skills that will benefit you in the long run. Give it a shot, try something new. This is the best time to experiment and learn new things.

3. Lifestyle in Santa Barbara

I love Santa Barbara, so this section is a bit biased towards the positive side (luckily). In short words, Santa Barbara offers a lifestyle that fits most peoples', because even though the city is small, there are a lot of things to do. Mostly, the city emphasizes the local community in general, so there are a lot of activities, such as the farmer's market, that you can enjoy by just being here.

Also, Santa Barbara hosts its famous Santa Barbara Film Festival, a full two-week of movies, speakers, and cool stuff to watch. And yeah, all the Hollywood famous people come over, so you'll probably see them around.

In addition, Santa Barbara is a very cool spot for nature lovers. So if you like hiking, surfing, relaxing at the beach and gardening, for example, you'll have a great time while around.