In a few days, I will be leaving the country for the first time in my entire life, and I've been anticipating this moment since I received the congratulatory email. Still, as departure day draws closer, all that I've been thinking about is what I'm going to miss once I'm gone. My family, friends, MY FOOD, just my whole way of life. It's been helpful to remind myself why I chose to study abroad in the first place. I want to step out of my comfort zone and gain new cultural perspectives, all the while learning to appreciate what I have back home.

Picture this: you’re at a family gathering over the holidays, talking to relatives that you haven’t seen in what is probably literal years, and the butterflies in your stomach flutter with joy as you tell every single person that you’re studying abroad next semester and you’re just so excited.

Hello and welcome to my very first blog of my semester in Christchurch, NZ! One thing you should know about me is that I tend to procrastinate.... a lot. And naturally, I procrastinated writing this post. Not because it's something I don't want to do, but because every time I sat down to write it I was faced with a massive mental block.

            I was selected to study abroad during the fall of my sophomore year. It’s now spring semester of my junior year and I’m finally getting ready to go to Israel. I mean, South Africa. No, I don’t think the two countries are that similar; however, until just a few months ago I was getting ready to spend a semester in Israel.

My program starts in February, which mostly means I am watching my friends go back to my home school, American University, in Washington, D.C., or embark on their own abroad adventures through text and social media. Messages of “Good luck!” or heart-eye reactions to pictures of new sights abound. I know it’s only a matter of time until I receive the same. 

At my home school, study abroad is a fairly common phenomenon. Each program encourages it, especially language and international studies professors. 

Hey guys! I am heading to Rome Italy, how crazy is that!? Here is a more updated introduction of what I will be doing and more exact plans! I have more things situated and wanted to share with you what to expect in the next few days and in the future while I am abroad! I have so many different feelings about going, but overall I am excited and going in open-minded. I will be posting while I am over there obviously, if you guys have any ideas please let me know!

Quite honestly my return home from abroad snuck up on me. At first, the semester seemed to be dragging on; everything was in front of me and I just could not wait to get to the next new and exciting thing. However, the semester quickly picked up speed and flew by me in a rush of excitement without me even realizing it. Next thing I knew I was facing down finals and my return home. For a while, I was distracted from my return by finals, but eventually, I could no longer push off the reality of my imminent departure.

I’m currently sitting at my favorite coffee shop in my hometown of Tucson, Arizona. My iced coffee sits in front of me as I take in the Arizona sun and the view of the Catalina mountains towering over me. Familiar faces pass by as I reflect on the memories I have in this city. Since moving here when I was seven, Tucson has shaped me in countless ways.

It’s a week into the new year and I’m happily sitting at home with my dogs, looking out the window at the latest snowfall. Right now, everything is peaceful and simple, as I sit in the house I spent all twenty-one years of my life in. But, nothing lasts forever, and glancing over at the German dictionaries my mother got me for my birthday, I’m reminded that in a little over a month I’ll be leaving my familiar surroundings for the experience of a lifetime.

Studying abroad in Barcelona has been a truly interesting experience for me. Some of what I expected went as I thought, and some of what I expected did NOT go as I thought. As strange as this may sound, I am relieved to be done studying abroad. However, this is not to say that I wouldn’t do it over again.