So getting on the plane and leaving everything I’ve ever known behind was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Not only was this the first time I had ever been to Europe, but it was also the first time I had flown without my parents. There were a lot of things I wish I had known about flying alone, and I learned the hard way.
Hopefully these tips will save some stress:
Hola dear Reader(s),
I play on my home schools rugby team. I joined freshman year, after the senior sitting next to me in choir on the first day told me I should. On a random feeling of, “hey, why not?” I went to rugby practice a few days later. Within that first two and a half hours, I KNEW that I would love this sport, even if I didn’t really understand it yet. (To be honest, 2 years later, I’m still not convinced I understand it completely.) Since that day, I have been dedicated to my team and to the sport, and I have had the time of my life playing.
For the 3rd week of September, me and two other girls that I had met through IES Abroad went on a 6 day Italy trip. We were staying in Venice for 2 days and the remainging 4 days Florence. During the last day at Florence, we made a quick stop to Pisa as well.
Today is Thursday September 15th. It’s been almost two weeks now since my feet touched the soil of a different country for the first time in my life. It’s currently 7:33pm, and I’m lying in my bed in my Spanish homestay with no intentions of leaving any time soon.
She lives 4,489 miles away, but fate told me we would meet. — Her nature is a calming green, the shade of clovers you only see deep in the woods. I am lucky, blessed to be in her presence, and I will be with her until the luke-warm December arrives. When I leave she could turn cold like the white snowcapped Alps which are a part of her being. She tells me "even from the summit, you can't see everything I have to offer." I take her words as a challenge: take it all in -- every sight, scent, taste, sound, and feeling.
Bonjour from France! It's been an incredible two weeks, and still feels vaguely unreal. Last weekend’s trip to Vannes helped that feeling, but I know that the more time I spend in Nantes, the more I'm going to realize that this is actually my place now. Sometimes it feels like I’ve been here for months, but the ripples of culture shock and homesickness prove that’s not true.
What is home? Where is home? What defines home? For me the concept of home has been very hard to define. Ever since I was a kid, I have been constantly moving to a new city or country. Though I have strong associations with my country of origin, I do not think it can be defined as my “home.” Is home where your family is? Maybe. But I can’t tell you what home is for you. The idea of home is something I have been contemplating recently. I have come to the conclusion that home is not a concrete place; it’s a bit more abstract in my opinion.
Hey everyone! I’m just about to finish my very first week at school and I’m ready to knock out for the next ten thousand years.