A few weeks ago, I received an email from American Airlines with my flight itinerary for a trip I’ll be making on January 2. Destination: London, Gatwick Airport. Feelings: uninhibited excitement and unexpected nervousness. The excitement was expected, but the feelings of nervousness have definitely been a surprise.
As my study abroad experience inches closer, I find myself becoming increasingly energized about the prospect of visiting cities I’ve only seen through glossy images on a screen or read about in a book. London, Paris, Rome, Dublin, Prague, Amsterdam, and Barcelona are a few of the places I hope to visit before May 29, 2004, when I’ll be completing the other leg of that trip, heading to Dallas, then home to San Antonio; hopefully I’ll squeeze in a few more exotic stops between taking classes, writing a 50 page research paper, and working for a company in the UK through the Olin School of Business’s International Internship Program.
While all of this appeals to me, as it has for the past year when I decided that study abroad was the best way for me to spend the spring semester of my junior year, I never expected to be nervous about the trip and the prospect of spending five months away from my family, friends, and Washington University.
After living on my own in New York City for a summer, traveling with my family around the United States on various vacations, and coming to St. Louis from San Antonio for college, I figured I could handle London and the rest of Europe. What I’m finding out though is that in all of these places I was surrounded by friends and still in close proximity to family; while there will be classmates of mine from the University in London with me, I’ll be confronted with an entirely different culture- new tastes, new people, and new experiences.
I imagine this culture shock will be jarring. Fish and chips, lots and lots of tea and a semester without good Tex-Mex-how will I survive? Conversations with friends abroad this fall have shown me that it’s all worth it, and the immediate culture shock is quickly replaced with a love for the city in which you spend your time, the quirky people you encounter, and the interesting places you visit.
After thinking about it while, I realized this nervousness is expected and normal. An ocean will physically separate me from family and friends for five months. Still, I’ll have many modes of communication at my disposal. And I’ll be really out in the world, on my own, responsible for and to myself. Although I have never been to Europe, the experience of going out there and doing something different from anything I have ever done before can only benefit me in my personal, academic, and professional development. Yes, it’s a bit nerve-racking as the time gets closer, but in the end it will be worth it.
What will I miss here while I’m away? This question keeps haunting me. Various parties, Black Anthology, and Thurtene Carnival will all continue without my presence and patronage next semester. But at the same time, I’ll be getting a taste of Europe, and this continent will be spreading its Old World magic on me. To study abroad and have a grand opportunity for growth and exploration seems to be the right choice; staying behind at the University because I’m afraid of what I’ll leave behind is definitely the wrong one.
This place will undoubtedly change and grow in my absence, but I know I will do the same by the time I return next fall-and change for the better at that.