Pre-departure Feels

Brooklyn Kyrouac
January 18, 2018

I’ve never left North America. This lack of worldliness might have to do with the fact that my mother hasn’t left the continent either. To her, the thought of a ten-hour plane ride is scary, and the concept of living in another country is simply unthinkable. My grandma holds similar views.

“You simply couldn’t pay me to do that,” she whispered conspiratorially. And I get it. Travelling can be nerve-wrecking, especially as an American who’s French consists of what she has learned from the “DuoLingo” app. However, instead of feeling terrified, I feel mostly exhilarated.

Like I said, I’ve never left the country, albeit a day-trip to Canada. I visited Montreal, Quebec and fell in love. I ate a crepe that I still tell EVERYONE about to this day. Upon eating this crepe, I imagined for a second what a crepe in France would taste like and knew where I had to go.

I have compiled a short list of things I want to do during my adventure:

  1. Eat as many crepes as possible
  2. Learn French
  3. Visit as many places as my bank account will let me
  4. Try to decide whether I like savory or sweet crepes better
  5. Take pictures
  6. Keep a journal
  7. Study French business practices

However, before I tackle all that, I should probably start packing. I leave in three days and my room is currently serving as a giant hamper. I’m getting to the point where I can’t remember what color the floor is. My mother is constantly giving me looks which seem to say “Dear God” and I am writing this instead of preparing for my trip.

It’s hard to know exactly what to bring because I’ve never lived on my own in an apartment before. From living in the dorms to the sorority house, I’ve always had someone looking out for me, and my roommate is the same way. Hopefully we learn how to cook without burning the kitchen down and can somehow navigate our new universe. More to come on this.

I am so excited and weirded out that this is happening to me. Aside from my crepe talk (didn’t mean to crepe you out there), I truly hope to gain more insight into this expansive world we live in. America is truly a bubble; to break out of it is scary yet wonderful. Here’s to jumping out comfort zones.

Cheers,

Brooklyn

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Brooklyn Kyrouac

<p>I'm Brooklyn Kyrouac, a twenty year old junior who is extremely excited to go to Nice. I love to read and hang out with my friends. I'm a definite "yes" girl, and I take every opportunity that comes my way. A fun fact is that one of my thumbs is shorter than the other one.</p>

Destination:
Term:
2018 Spring
Home University:
Indiana University
Hometown:
Terre Haute, IN
Major:
Marketing
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