Hello hello hello! Hannah here, writing from Istanbul. I know, I know. It’s been a while. The past three weeks have been spent exploring and eating and learning and eating and meeting people and eating. Since it’s been so long since I last wrote, let’s get to the point(s).
Sunday, February 7th, 2016 12:57 pm
Alhamar, Granada
Hey everyone!
To all of the people who are continuing to follow my adventures, welcome back!
It’s easy to romanticize traveling. And travel is indeed a beautiful, wonderful, enriching thing. You become exposed to fascinating new people, cultures, experiences, languages, food (very important), architecture, you name it. However, there is absolutely nothing romantic or idealistic about the logistics of travel.
Growing up, my family valued dinner time. Even though we were extremely busy we always ate dinner together. The significance of family dinner time wasn’t in the food itself but in the action of sharing news, stories, feelings, etc. When you leave home to go to college, or even to study abroad, you don’t really think about how much you will miss a home cooked meal shared with your family.
I will say right off the bat, over the course of my first month in Paris, I have done far less writing than I initially expected. I assumed I would be wandering around aimlessly, scribbling away in my notebook. Passing hours in solitary contemplation of profound questions. Who am I? Where am I going? and the likes. Go figure, this has not been the case.
Six months down; six more to go. Many students from the United States go abroad for a single semester, but I firmly believe that a full year was the best decision for me. Before leaving The States I decided to study abroad for two semesters, because students who had formerly studied abroad mention that at the end of their semester they didn't feel ready to leave. I would much rather feel homesick and aching to return than leave just as I'm starting to feel assimilated. I'm looking forward to a semester where not everything is new.
We didn't let the gloomy weather in Paris put a damper on our little trip. The two days we spent in Paris were packed but I enjoyed every moment. We definitely experienced more of a culture shock while visiting Paris due to the different language and customs. The architecture throughout the city is beautiful so I would definitely recommend taking some time to just walk around different areas and explore, even if you're there for a short amount of time. The metro system works pretty well too.
I'm not sure if I believe in coincidences or not, but in moments of doubt or despair, I always find something. Here I've found odd similarities between Dublin and the city I call home: Providence. The River Liffey divides the north side from the south side, and in Providence the river separates The Hill from downtown. There's one bridge in particular that is almost identical to one in Rhode Island. I can't help but take comfort in the new familiarity.