Here are the nine certified ways to spot a Liverpool student who did a year abroad

From tiny tattoos done on a side street in Spain, to changing the language on their phone to match the locals from their year abroad, there’s no easy way to escape hearing the life stories of that one uni student that has just come back from a stint on a foreign campus.

They’ll come back from a semester or academic year abroad with a new accent, insisting that they “found themselves” whilst studying on a beach somewhere on the other side of the world. They’ll leave you feeling jealous as you fight through another all-nighter in the Sydney Jones reminiscing what could have been if you’d have agreed to go away to soak up some European sun.

If Liverpool wasn’t already half of their personality, they’ve now got a brand new city and university to bang on about, because they’re pretty much a native now – but not quite as insufferable as a “gap yah” girlie, or so they say.

I’m speaking from experience here as a certified year abroad student who is definitely guilty of nearly everything on this list. If you’re a year abroad student, then listen to these nine things all your mates will look out for to confirm their suspicions that you’re now just as bad as the gap year-goers.

They practically live in the Language Lounge 

Ever wondered what is in that beautiful Georgian building opposite Abercromby Square? Yep, you guessed it, it’s the Language Lounge. Students who did their year abroad through a languages degree can be found here 24/7, especially when the SJ is too busy.

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The space is filled with photos from everyone’s year abroad as well as books in several different languages, just to rub it in that they’re having a better time than you. If you too would like to procrastinate by reminiscing on your year abroad, then this is the place to be.

They speak an incomprehensible mix of English and whatever language they learnt on their year abroad

Franglais s’il vous plaît? 

Most year abroad students seem to forget that not everyone has spent a year in a foreign country, galavanting around niche local towns that nobody else has ever heard of. So the answer is no, we don’t understand, and yes, please stick to one language at a time.

They never stop talking about it

We all have that one friend whose only anecdotes start with “well when I was on my year abroad…”

Somehow, even when speaking about it all the time, it’s still never enough. They’ll post two carousels on Instagram a week with the caption “take me back” so that you can’t possibly forget that they’ve been away, just to top it all off.

They are suddenly coffee experts

This one especially goes out to all of the students that did a year abroad in Italy. One sip of an Italian coffee and suddenly they can’t drink anything other than espresso, because they’re locals now and can’t bear the thought of losing their year abroad flair. Don’t even think about ordering a cappuccino in 92 Degrees after 11am with your year abroad friend. You won’t hear the end of it.

They’re already planning on when they can go back

Once you’re left with a taste for a life abroad, it’s impossible to get it out of your mind – evenings at the beach, culture everywhere you look, cheap cocktails, what’s not to love? A year away is simply not enough, they must return. You’ll catch them scrolling on Skyscanner at least twice a day, checking out flights to their newfound second home. Graduation can’t come soon enough.

They have the flag(s) of their year abroad country in their Instagram bio

Ok, I’m not saying everyone does this, but there’s definitely some that do. In case their year abroad Instagram highlight wasn’t enough, those flags in their bio are there just to make sure no one forgets. After all, it is their new personality trait, right?

They correct you on your pronunciation of things

It’s brus-C-etta, not bru-SH-etta!

Ok we get it, they pronounce bruschetta differently in Italy, but how is anyone else supposed to know? Slipping a bit of the local lingo into their everyday vocabulary is an inevitable outcome from a year abroad, no matter how annoying all of their friends will find it.

Their phone is in a foreign language 

If you have ever had the misfortune of trying to use the phone of someone who has been on a year abroad, you’ll instantly know what I’m talking about. They insist that it “helps them to learn the language” but all it really does is confuse themselves and anybody else who tries to use it.

They have a tattoo to commemorate their time away

This one’s actually pretty cute. Living in a foreign country is scary and it quickly becomes one of the best years of your life, filled with enough memories to last a lifetime. So what better way to remember it than a cute little tattoo to symbolise it?

If you’re lucky enough to be a fourth year still clutching onto the memories of your year abroad, then don’t start to lose your motivation for talking about it all the time. The rest of us stuck on Merseyside are simply just jealous of your European adventures, or the photo evidence that you definitely had a better time in Asia than we did in the Sydney Jones.