The Study Abroad Halfway Point: Bring on the Grunge
Written by Alicia March 8, 2016
I was reminded that study abroad is not all fun and games this week as midterms have arrived. 4 presentations- 2 long and 2 short – and a good old fashioned exam to finish off this Friday (and my schedule is by no means the hardest!). So what am I doing with all of my free time? Why, preparing for a 10-day adventure of course!
That’s right, spring break is almost upon us, signaling the halfway mark of our semester. This fact is truly unbelievable. I feel that I can’t possible have been here for over a month! Except I have. I’ve been to 3 countries and numerous cities and struggled to order coffee in a multitude of languages. More than a month! Whew.
Before I get too ahead of myself, I’d like to spend a little bit of time talking about my highly anticipated 10-day, 4-country trip. Or as I have been referring to it as the ”90’s fashion makes a comeback tour.”
In retrospect, I probably should have invested in a real travel backpack but as they say – no pain no gain! And, regardless, the challenge itself will be exciting. 4 shirts, 3 pairs of pants, a scarf, and pajamas (Hey, it’s still a pretty big backpack!) So: 4 sets of clothes for 10 days… I wasn’t kidding about the grunge!
Aside from traveling with a dirty hamper with straps, I’ll also be with 4 other people, 4 other backpacks, and 5 plane flights.
Figuring out the logistics of this trip was an adventure in itself! Coordinating flights and hostels in countries where I don’t speak the language of was difficult when it was 2 days and 1 location, now we have a handful of both. The “planning” night mostly consisted of the 5 us locked in a room for hours, 1 spreadsheet, 1 calendar, some cookies, and a lot a late-night-loss-of-sleep laughing. All of which I have interpreted as meaning that I definitely picked a good group to be trapped with for a week and a half!
Now there are the more complex choices of: where to store my spare passport copy and flight papers, how much money should I carry, do I need snacks?!?! It’s all oddly reminiscent of the packing I did to move to Italy, but 1/6 of the scale. One other thing that is startlingly familiar? The nervous excitement of knowing that soon I’ll be in places I have never before. Sights I’ve never seen, languages I don’t know, food I’ve never tried. The only difference is that, this time, I get to do it with friends.
Wish me luck and I’ll see you after spring break!
Arrivederci!
Ali