Adjusting to a New Culture

I'm definitely nervous about studying abroad - this is going to be my first time ever leaving the country! I don't have any idea how immersing myself in a new culture will affect me - maybe my experience will be all good, but what if I completely freak out? I'm guessing that all in all, I'm going to have good and bad moments as I adjust - hopefully mostly good. One of the biggest things that I think I can do is thoroughly prepare now. I want to try to get as close to the Irish culture as I can, before I even go there. Researching and planning are two of the best ways I know to de-stress about something, and I think that's going to really help me out here. Learning about transportation, money, food, and slang terms are all ways that I want to use try to help me ease into the culture. Knowledge is power, right? On the other hand, I know that it's impossible to find and store every piece of information about Northern Ireland that I might need before I go there - of course, I will find myself in situations where I won't have any idea what to do, and that no amount of Google searches could have prepared me for. In those instances, I think it's just important that I handle myself as best I can and keep my attitude positive by not losing sight of my goals in coming here. I don't expect every moment in Ireland to be perfect - in fact, I hope that a lot of them aren't. I'm trying to expand my horizons, and I think that facing challenges is going to be a big part of that. With the right mindset, I think that problems I run into will only make me stronger in the long-run - including homesickness and feeling out of place in a new city.