Settling in during your first week abroad
You have just landed, and lectures start while your room still has no bedsheets.
Your first week abroad works best as a settling-in week with some learning in it, not a week of hard work with some settling in. Give the practical jobs real time, and keep lessons light.
If you landed jet-lagged, in a new climate, with a roommate you have not yet met, your attention is already full. That is normal, and it passes.
What should come before lessons?
The things that make the next day easier. A working phone, a place to sleep, food you can buy without thinking and a route to campus.
Do these in the order you need them. Bedsheets and a charger matter tonight. A student discount card can wait.
Try this: a three-list week
Write three short lists on your phone, to keep the week from feeling like one long pile.
- Today: the one or two things that must happen before you sleep.
- This week: forms, bank or fee tasks, orientation sessions, library card.
- Later: decorating, joining clubs, exploring, buying extras.
Move items down a list without guilt. When a task keeps moving down, you probably did not need it yet.
How much learning is enough in week one?
Enough to know what is expected. Read the module outline, note the first deadline and find out where each class is held.
Skip the idea of catching up on everything before term begins. If a reading list looks huge, pick the first item and stop there. Our guide on balancing classes, travel and independent study shows how to do this once term is moving.
How do I look after sleep and food?
Sleep first, because a rested person finishes forms faster. Try to eat a proper meal at a regular time, even if the food is unfamiliar.
A night routine helps in a new room. The evening wind-down planner lets you pick a few small steps, such as a warm drink, phone away and lights low. More ideas sit under rest and gentler evenings.
Fitting it around real life
Time zones make family calls awkward. Agree one weekly call with your parents so you do not feel pulled all week. If Raya, Deepavali or Chinese New Year falls while you are away, plan a small meal with friends and message home beforehand.
Feeling lost for a while is part of life changes and uncertain times. If low mood, anxiety or poor sleep lasts and gets in the way of eating or going to class, please speak to your university’s student support team or see our support page.
Where to go next
Come back to our learning and revision guides when your week has settled and you want to plan lessons properly.
If you would like a gentle close to a long first day, Sadhguru’s free 7-minute guided meditation in the Miracle of Mind app is an optional place to start.
Common questions
Should I start working hard on lessons in the first week?
Go to orientation and classes, read what is set, and keep the rest light. A packed timetable on day two usually collides with queues, forms and tiredness. Aim to be ready by the end of the week, not perfect on the first day.
What practical jobs come first?
A safe bed, a phone connection, a way to buy food and a way to reach your campus. Then the forms and accounts the university or landlord asks for. Everything else, such as decorating or joining every club, can wait until you have slept properly.
How do I handle missing home in the first week?
Message home at a set time rather than all day, and let yourself feel it. Sharing a meal with one coursemate helps more than it sounds. If homesickness stays heavy and starts affecting sleep or eating, speak to the student support team.
What if everyone else seems to be coping better?
Most people are hiding the same tiredness. First weeks look calmer from the outside than they feel. Ask one person how their week is going and you will probably hear something close to your own.
Read next
On the evening after a long day of queues and forms, a short guided meditation can help your body settle before you sleep in a new place.