4AM ON A SUNDAY

Get back home from a friend’s 21^st birthday celebration. The magic of studying abroad is knowing how to balance social, academic, and night life, am I right?

Looking past the language barrier is the one thing I would advise to anyone wanting to study abroad. The idea of hopping on a plane by yourself and flying to another country that may not speak your language can be a little daunting. And yes, I understand that a large amount of people from around the world can speak English, but that is not the point. It is the idea of facing the unknown. The “what if?” scenario. That's the whole point of studying abroad, right?

My flight for Spain leaves in approximately eight days, twenty-three hours, and fifty-two minutes, and I'm not at all ready.

Okay, so maybe that's sort of an exaggeration. I am ready. I mean I have my visa, my phone plan, all my information from IES Abroad, I've gone shopping for all my necessary travel items (cough cough peanut butter cough cough) but at the same time I still feel so unprepared to spend a semseter in a foreign country.

As an American, I consider myself lucky. I live in a nation that holds the principles of democracy at the highest possible regard. As a political science and public policy major, I have studied the foundations of the American government from a critical perspective and analyzed the works of the founding fathers in the respective historical context. Before arriving in South Africa, I was privileged to work on Capitol Hill and see my democracy in action.

Since I'm a big foodie and love to find all of the best restaurants in every city, I wanted to give you guys a lo down on all of the best #EEEATS (Instagram joke) in Sydney. My friends and I actually have an Instagram account, @foodforthought11, if you want to see the real deal (please DM us for featured posts).

I woke up today feeling a surge of something fantastic coursing through my veins, and I was so perplexed by the feeling that I thought I fell ill. But then I realized, after checking my temperature and being satisfied with a healthy 98 degrees, that my excitement stemmed from an epiphany—it finally hit me. I will be living in Dublin, Ireland, in just a little over a week. This moment kicked me into gear and started a packing frenzy.

The first time that I sat down to write this post, I thought I had this all figured out—I’ve traveled before and written before, I can pack light with the best of them and I come from a long line of women who worship the gospel of Rick Steves. However, I had not yet fully internalized the gravity that comes with leaving behind my home country for a semester. And what was the catalyst for this, you may ask? Well, actually, it all starts with a cup of coffee.

WOOHOO! I’m headed to the French Riviera! 

      Time flies by when you have no time to pack or prepare for going abroad!!  As of right now my best pre-study abroad advice would be not to procrastinate as I have done. Anyway, my name is Lindsey and I will be beginning my junior year of college at the University of Amsterdam in just four short days.

Resfeber (n): the restless race of the traveler’s heart before the journey begins. When anxiety and anticipation are tangled together, wanderlust.