Studying abroad is never an easy thing.

Sure, it’s mainly about meeting new people and discovering a new country, but when the excitement of discovery gives way to homesickness, being away from home can be just as hard for the student as for the family.

But thankfully the arrival of social networks has provided an outlet for these students.

Keeping in touch with family has never been so accessible. Social networking tools have completely changed the study-abroad experience, while 10 years ago, a trip for one year meant almost no contact with friends and family, with a few letters and postcards and a phone call once a week. Gone are the expensive phone calls, and say hello to free video chats.

Adrian Espallargas, an undergraduate journalism student from Spain who is a columnist and photographer for The Daily, said he thinks feeling homesick will not be a problem.

Speaking to his family once a week on Skype is enough for him, and because it is not his first abroad experience, Espallargas said he knows he can adapt well. He previously spent seven months studying in Edinburgh, Scotland.

For him, social networking tools are useful for speaking to his family in Spain and his girlfriend in Japan.

“We probably couldn’t make it if we couldn’t talk for a year,” Espallargas said.

Matt Poole, a mathematics graduate student from England, echoed Espallargas’ sentiments.

Even though it’s Poole’s first experience abroad, he’s not worried about his family or his girlfriend, who remains in England.

“As long as I can talk to them, it’s fine,” Poole said.

But as a study abroad student, he does not forget the reason he came to OU.

“I’m here to discover and to make the most of this experience,” Espallargas said. “I have to open myself to other international students and American culture.”

South Korean student JiHye Lee still talks to her family every day.

“My mom misses me and wants me to come back,” said Lee, an undergraduate English education student.

Lee said she uses Skype to contact her family but mainly uses popular Korean applications on her Android cellphone.

Lee had never traveled outside of South Korea for more than one week and was still living with her parents back home. She said the experience studying at OU is a good way to gain her independence.

But it’s not that easy to leave one country’s customs for another, Lee said, and her mother seemed to agree when she sent her a 42-pound parcel of Korean food.

Social networking and new technology can be a great way to meet new people and make the most of an international experience, but for some, it means they can easily revert back to what’s comfortable.

“Korean people understand me more than foreigners because they share my culture and my mother tongue,” Lee said. “English is not [my native language], and I can’t really express my feelings.”