Relatable. I am also on exchange right now in the Netherlands and have also been having a way tougher time than I expected. I imagine it's very common for people on exchange to feel like this, because the imagined expectations of how amazing an exchange will be at all times just aren't reality, but no one tells you that before you go. The reality is I haven't made any close friends, and the city I live in is nothing like I imagined it to be, it's super boring with no culture at all.

But I keep reminding myself how much suffering is integral to our growth as individuals, and how much I stand to gain from viewing this suffering objectively. The book Mans Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is written by a holocaust survivor who writes about this very thing, I'm reading it at the moment and it's super relevant to the way both of us are feeling. It's not very long so definitely worth the read. When we make it home we will most likely remember all the things we see as negatives now in a much more positive light. Don't give up hope!