Just when you thought your college years couldn’t get any better, a thought begins to cross your mind the beginning of sophomore year: should I go abroad? The answer, if you don’t already know, is yes. If you can afford the trip to that place you have been dying to visit, what better way to vacation without your parents for 4 solid months? Though many college kids never get the chance to go abroad, rubbing it in others’ faces is sometimes hard not to do. Not only will they know you went abroad when they realize you have gone missing after winter break, but they will also know once you are back in action junior year. If you are having trouble categorizing who went abroad, take a look at these ways to spot a study abroad offspring.

1. Study abroad-ers all of a sudden have at least 100 new facebook friends after coming home from their program. Though most of these people you probably will never speak to again, the easy way to spot someone who went abroad are the sky-rocketing number of facebook friends’ they have and you, well, don’t.

2. They suddenly like techno music. Clubs in places like Barcelona and Florence give sweaty foreigners a chance to groove to the music of techno’s finest. They don’t usually play techno beats in bars in Madison, so you may just have to splurge on a CD if you really want to reminisce.

3. Guys who went abroad suddenly are into the idea of buying rounds at the bar. With such expensive drinks abroad, liquor deals in Madison are looking like a bargain.
 

4. Even though it gets cold in Madison and it isn’t unlikely that you will see girls sporting scarves, the signature abroad scarf consists of fun colors and checkers. Believe me, a girl sporting this signature scarf has most likely just returned from a study abroad program.

5. “Dame, dame”. This little phrase means “give me” in Spanish and became a phrase most students picked up within the first 5 minutes of being abroad. Those who went abroad usually bring back native expressions. We are now in America people; it might be time to retire the sayings some of us might not understand.

6. Their once bare apartment walls are full of pictures of people you have never seen before. People get into picture overload mode abroad and bring back the evidence to hang on their walls.

7. If you went abroad, you probably think going out to the bars at midnight is early. People in places like Rome and Barcelona start showering at midnight, not leaving for a night out on the town.

8. You hold onto your shit for dear life. Those who went abroad know that mugging is no joke when roaming the streets. Those spotted holding their purses in their laps while eating are clear giveaways.

9. Sweatshirts. T-shirts. Whatever they can find. Most people who went abroad have paraphernalia plastered with the country they visited. Alright already; we get it.

10. And finally, the tell all of those who want to really rub it in your face: students who went abroad and haven’t “fully returned” usually have a giant flag of the country they studied in plastered across their living room wall. Whether it’s a flag or an oversized map, we get the hint. You went abroad and you still wish you were there.

For all of you out there who are making going abroad a second semester must, make sure to take lots of pictures, stay up all night and pack a giant flag in your duffle bag.

It’s officially your turn to rub it in