It still doesn't feel real that I'll be spending a semester abroad in London! I'm feeling excited at the prospect of immersing myself in a foreign country but at the same time I'm sad that I didn't get to spend more time in San Francisco. I haven't been home in a while because I spent the summer working back at Rochester so I've really missed the food and culture. I could go on and on about all of the things I love about the city, but pictures will do a better job of showing it. 

        Hi, my name is Breanne Ayala, but most people call me Bre. I am a junior at Sewanee: The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. I am from Medford, New Jersey (right between Philly and the beach). As time is ticking down to begin this amazing experience of studying abroad I am finding myself filled with mixed emotions (eagerness, frightened, excitement, and so much more).

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked: “are you excited”, “are you all packed”, or “do you feel ready to go”. But no matter how many times people asked me these questions, I still didn’t feel that I was really leaving! Don’t get me wrong, I am more than excited to spend the next few months making my new home in an amazingly beautiful country, but I think that I first needed to be ok with leaving this home.

So here I am, three days before my flights to Chicago and Paris, without a bag being packed at all. The scary thing is, I've procrastinated packing far worse than this. I mean, I've gathered some of my belongings, carry-on items, clothes, and some other small things, but nothing has actually made it into any suitcases or bags. They'll eventually get packed in time, hopefully with everything I need, but I guess we'll see when I arrive in France! Right now I'm just facing the different decisions about what to pack: this pair of shoes of these ones?

What did you wish you knew before you went to Spain? That’s what people have asked me on several occasions. And that question is more complicated than it seems. If you’ve ever been asked do you wish you’d chosen to go to school somewhere else, maybe you’ll understand. The true answer to that question usually revolves around “At the time I made the right decision, but who I am now wouldn’t make that same decision.” That’s how it is with going abroad. After the experience, I know a whole lot more than I did coming in.

After one long train ride, four flights, and countless taxis, I’ll be in Madrid in a little over a week. Just a few weeks ago, my parents decided to book a last minute vacation in Orlando so my youngest sibling could experience the magic of Harry Potter World, which I would dare to say is even more magical than Magic Kingdom. I’ll then be flying up to Washington, DC for a last minute round of summer internship interviews on the day before my flight to Europe.

I left my home on Liebhartsgasse last month. A month before that I figured out that "lieb" means "dear," "good," and "lovely," and "hart" means "hard" and "tough." I've been living on lovely, tough street for four months. How apt! I came to Vienna with the intent of being present. I wanted to take Vienna as my opportunity to be like I had never been before. I didn't want to go to bed each night with the wish for a better tomorrow.

The new year is upon us, and so too is my flight to Vienna, Austria. I've never been one to care about New Year's—I'm always in the same place, with the same people, doing the same thing. But this year is going to be different—very different. I will be studying music in Vienna for the spring 2016 semester, and I have never been more excited (and scared) for anything in my whole life. Vienna: Europe's cultural capital, the home to some of the greatest musicians, artists, and thinkers who ever lived! And I'm going to be there!

I can't believe I am already back on American soil. It feels like just the other day I was getting my passport checked in Japan, with excitement rushing through my veins. Just moments before meeting Xavier, who little did I know, would be come my best friend on this amazing experience. It feels like just the other day I was sitting in a room of 150 international students complaining about the drawn out orientations and comparing excitement and expectations for the semester ahead.

I've been back in the United States for almost three weeks now, and in a strange way it feels like nothing has changed back home other than myself. There's construction on the highway and my family moved a new couch into the living room, but otherwise nothing seems that new. I've been happy to experience all the things I missed about America, but other things have made me notice what I already miss about being in Beijing. Here are the top five things I missed about America and the top five things I miss about Beijing