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Pre-Departure Part 2: Packing for Paris!

Salut!

I hate to admit it but I overpacked despite all the advice not to. My host mom offered to lend me everything that I could possibly need. I underestimated how amazing it is to live in a homestay. I absolutely adore my host mom, but more on that later. Now that I'm here, looking back on all that I packed yesterday, here is a list of advice I would have for packing. 

(Skip to the bottom for a summary)

1. Airline's Baggage limitations

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Final Thoughts Before Departure.

I’m Brandon Berardo, a Junior Finance and Chinese double major at Wofford College. In the following post, I will try to give you a sense of my home and my life, all of the things that I am leaving behind that make me who I am. I’ve chosen to travel to Beijing in the hopes of improving my Chinese language proficiency as well as gaining a better understanding of the complex Chinese culture. As I sit here staring at my open, and still empty, suitcase, I am trying to wrap my head around this study abroad experience.

Epilogue

I'm finally back in the States and it's still a bit surreal to me, but I feel an overwhelming sense of calm in life. Adjusting back to life here isn't the hardest, but rather trying to not long for what was proves more difficult. It's done and over with—my study abroad adventures have ended and I have to use them to shape my life now and in the future rather than obsessing over them for sentiment's sake. Obviously, this applies for any and every experience, but I think it's a bit more nuanced here.