Some of you may be like me—broadly speaking, sedentary, not the most physically active, and have arrived in your abroad location and find yourself being forced to be more active than you’re used to. It’s a struggle, and something that can be especially draining when you first arrive as your body adjusts not only to a new time zone but activity levels. Having been in Freiburg for almost a week now, I’ve found a few ways to cope with the changes.
A life is a difficult contraption to build, and an even harder one to preserve. Every environment I’ve been enveloped by has been surreal and self-contained, an exclusive experience for my eyes only. I spent the first eighteen years of my life holed up in northern New Jersey, itching for an opportunity to leave for good. University provided that for me—I moved to New York to study German and hoped I would one day be able to call the state my home. The longer I lingered, however, the more I realized that this could never be the case.
Hello everyone!!
Arriving in Tokyo is the first step to our journey in Japan and it is a big deal. There is a lot of new things we want to try and many things we can learn and I am sure none of us want to miss out on the fun. After all, we don’t always get a chance to travel and study in Japan. Thus, a few weeks before my departure I started doing some research about places I would like to visit and seasonal events. I included museums, parks, restaurants, and shopping centers and made sure to add a side note with their opening and closing times as well as directions in case I needed them.
To all the students who once doubted the possibility of studying abroad, I can relate. The idea of immersing myself in a new culture, pursuing my passions, and exploring one of my dream cities, Amsterdam, felt like an unattainable dream. The pandemic created uncertainty around international travel during my college years, causing me to question whether studying abroad was even possible. However, as the world slowly recovers from the pandemic, I refuse to let fear dictate my journey.
