I found myself repeating this phrase over and over in my head as I laid on my bed trying to fight back tears. Only forty-eight hours until I would step on a plane and begin my 16-week adventure in Rome, Italy, and these words were my attempt to control my emotions. I don’t know why I was crying—I had just finished a highly amusing episode of Parks and Recreations. But for whatever reason, just as Netflix was about to start the next episode, I began to cry.

Don’t get me wrong, I am beyond excited to study abroad. I have been since I submitted my deposit seven months ago. I spent hours sitting in my dorm planning trips and making lists, listening to Italian music, and counting down the days until I would finally be in the Eternal City.  But then came August 1, and I saw my departure day lingering in front of me—then lodge itself in the pit of my stomach.

It wasn’t until I hit the 10-day countdown that the tears began to slip out. The I-will-be-gone-for-almost-four-months reality finally triggered my inevitable emotions. I spent more time crying then relishing in the excitement of this amazing experience waiting for me across the globe. It frustrated me, yet I couldn’t figure out how to switch my perspective.

But these words seemed to work, for now. I was finally able to hold back my tears and relax. It felt nice.

The anticipation of studying abroad has its wide range of emotions. There’s a high level of excitement as you pack your bags and look forward to the adventures ahead. There’s also a lot of stress, nerves, and anxiety—trying to fit your life into one suitcase, preparing for the culture shock, and saying good-byes. Mix all these feelings together, and sometimes the only way to make them all fit is to shed a few tears.

But it’s okay to cry. It’s okay to be nervous. To be sad. To worry. To miss your family, to miss your friends. It’s okay to forget a few things at home, and it’s okay to feel a little out of place in your new home. It’s okay to adjust. It’s okay to just be okay.

Rome, I cannot wait to meet you. I’m looking forward to all the pizza, gelato, and adventures you hold. I’m nervous to speak your language and adjust to your culture. I’m sure I will miss my family and feel a little homesick at times. But I know it will be okay. It will be more than okay.

Here I am on Tuesday, August 30th 2016. With my suitcase (weighing less than 50 lbs. yay!) and my backpack. I thought that I would be very nervous about this day. Saying “see you later” to family and friends is always difficult, but today feels like a normal day. Odd enough, I feel prepared to start my study abroad journey…

The next time you hear from me I’ll be in Rome; what a great way to start my junior year!

Now, you must be wondering what the Silk Road trip is. The Silk Road is a historical trade route between China and Eastern Europe where Chinese silk made up a significant part of the trade. The route ran along many different cities in China and the middle east but since The Beijing Center planned this trip for two weeks, we got to visit a few of them and experienced the vibrant cultures each had to offer. The Silk Road trip was an incredible adventure that I will forever cherish in my heart. I had the opportunity of discovering many cultures, places and people. The amount of new discoveries I got the chance to experience is innumerable and this trip allowed me to see China from a different angle. The most fascinating encounter for me was the Uyghur people who are Turkic-speaking living mostly in northwestern China. When we were in Turpan, a Uyghur family welcomed us to lunch with succulent dishes, oriental music and dancing. I will never forget the barbecued mutton skewers and the juicy baby grapes the area is known for. As a traveler myself, I would have never planned on visiting these areas because they were unknown to me but thanks to TBC, my love for Chinese cultures and heritages has grown even bigger. The Silk Road trip has confirmed my doubts on studying abroad in China. I am an international student myself and leaving home is always challenging and choosing your destination is even a harder decision to make – Am I going to like it there? Am I going to make friends and do well in my classes? There are so many questions and fear of the unknown. Thankfully, my sister who is also studying abroad in China with me has made the transition much smoother. Being on this trip, meeting new people and making friends along the way has solidified my study abroad choice. The TBC staff members are also incredible and have made this trip an unforgettable one. It’s always comforting to have Bill Feng, the trip leader, come up to you with a huge smile and a good morning or his constant request for group pictures in which he smiles while taking the picture. Also, there’s Father Gene who’s always ready to give more insight into the places, the people and the food! Let’s not forget Nick Poche, the Dean of Students, always eager to share his snacks on train rides. I think the people I got to know on this trip made my Silk Road trip experience the most memorable one I had so far. I didn’t want to accept the fact that the trip has ended when we got back to campus because I wanted it to go on but since everything has to come to an end, I mentally prepared myself for the start of classes. It took me a whole day in bed to do so. Who knows how much sleep I’m going to get once exams and papers are due? Might as well catch up with some sleep when I can. The Silk Road Trip has been a very enlightening introduction to my semester in China and it’s all thanks to the amazing TBC staff that made this trip possible.

 

One week ago, I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, fully unpacking my backpack for the first time. It was a surreal experience, but one that had to take place eventually. I had grown to love living out of my pack, even if it meant sometimes (or always) wearing a wrinkled t-shirt or getting frustrated because the way things fit perfectly meant having to dig deep for my contacts. It became my home away from home, and packing it – each time with a little something extra – became a relaxing ritual to help me prepare for the next leg of my journey.

Since unpacking, I have been introduced to a whole slew of new flavors, taken my first ride on a motorbike (I survived!), done my first load of laundry not in the sink, and gotten through syllabus week. I have met 16 other American students, as well as 17 dedicated partners from Open University, where we are studying, and countless students at our dorm, all more than willing to help us settle in, find the best food spots, and get involved.

Even with the tremendous support from our new Vietnamese friends, it has taken me until the last few days to be confident enough to order street food. I generally feel embarrassed when I cannot speak enough of a language to order what I want and have to use English, relying on others to know my language instead of knowing enough of theirs. So far, though, every local I have met has been kind enough to help me understand the menu, practice my pronunciation, or even show me how to eat local dishes. I always struggle, and we often laugh together, but each encounter gives me more confidence to interact and practice what I know. I have promised myself that come December, I will be able to correctly pronounce and order my favorite dishes.

So far, everything has seemed to be going so fast, and yet somehow still slow, but I am enjoying every second of it. Just five days ago I was zipping through traffic on the back of my partner’s motorbike after only a brief “Xin Chao!”, trying to soak in as much of my surroundings as possible while also talking over the noise of traffic. Like every new relationship, especially with my complete lack of Vietnamese language skills and incessant honking from every direction, our conversation started out a little choppy, but before long it felt like we had known each other for years. And, perhaps more exciting than my courses or the amazing view I have of the skyline from my room, in just two days, I will be heading with my partner, Quynh, to her hometown to try some more Vietnamese dishes and do some hiking. Friday cannot come soon enough!

Have you ever cried into a muffin? Because I have.

It’s not that studying abroad isn’t great. It’s great. Returning home is going to happen too fast, too soon, and I can feel it sneaking up on me.

Yet, I cried into a muffin today.

First thing is first, let’s describe this muffin. It is a totally Chilean muffin. Some kind of vanilla-flavored batter, coated in some kind of nut (get used to that, the word for “nut” here is pretty vague), and filled with manjar (read: dulce del leche a.k.a. CARAMEL (but better)).

Anyway, obviously, the routines you know and love at home are impossible abroad and for the majority of the time this is for the better. But today was a whirlwind of things which I missed and therefore I cried into a muffin.

Let me tell you, a muffin is not the best thing to cry into. There are crumbs everywhere, Evidence of my sadness is literally sprawled across my room.

That said, maybe this is a good time to focus on the brighter points of study abroad.

There are a ton of extranjeras! Seriously! And we all hang out together often! (Perhaps too often, because I should practice my Spanish more). And the extranjeras/os come from all sorts of places so not only is there this built-in experience of meeting people from a place you have never been before, but there is the experience of meeting many people from many places you haven’t been before!

Plus, the only reason I cried into a muffin is because my host dad knows I love muffins. Whenever I have a bad day, he shows up at my door with a muffin. How he knew I loved muffins is beyond me but the bottom line is that sadness-in-Chile=MUFFINS.

Anyway, I am sure there will be more muffins to cry my heart into– but that is part of the process and I am just really grateful that I have friends to brag about the flavor of muffin to, and a family to bring the objects-of-bragging directly to my mouth.

It is hard to believe that it is already September and we are already done with our first week of classes. As each day passes, it becomes more and more like home here, as the sights and gates and sounds become more and more a part of who I am. My ability to speak and listen has gotten exponentially better in the short time I’ve been here, and will only continue to grow as I decided to take Chinese class that is 10 hours a week.

Yesterday, some of us decided to take a field trip to the Great Wall of China aka one of the 7 wonders of the world. I’d been there once before when I was younger, but obviously did not remember most of it. Some of us chose to walk to the wall which required walking up a pretty steep mountain via stairs (stairmaster: real life). Ironically, once we reached the top, we were presented with even more stairs as the wall it self travels the path of all the mountains in the area. What is really interesting to me is that the stairs on each wall to get to each tower are not the same size, which was to prevent intruders from being able to attack as easily when they arrived on the wall. The guards of each tower would memorize the pattern of the stairs so they could quickly notify other towers if an intruder were to actually get atop the wall.

After enjoying a wonderful picnic lunch of subway atop the wall, it was time to return to the base. A lot of my friends decided to take a sled comparable to an alpine slide down the mountain, but 2 other people and I decided to stair master it down the mountain to enjoy the sights and sounds. Safe to say, my legs hurt very bad today as I’m writing this. It’s hard to imagine that this wall that is so old is still standing today for tourists like us to walk on and enjoy.

Then, at night, we decided to rally and go to a pub crawl. The amount of international students here is actually amazing, and it’s weird to think that I’m finally a cool international kid. The pub crawl was for the Beijing Ardvarks, which is a rugby team, and went around one of the expat areas of China. We got to go to a rooftop bar for one of them! Despite the fact that I got us lost. In one of those moments where you realize how hard Chinese is to learn, I had the taxi drop us off somewhere, and then we walked the wrong way. Then we decided to get into one of the pedicabs (or cabs on bikes) and he definitely over charged us. To dodge traffic, he drove on the sidewalk, and then dropped us off about 3 blocks in the wrong direction. After walking for 15 more minutes, we finally made it to the first bar. Interesting experience for one of my first nights out in China, and I may or not have been convinced to join the rugby team, but hey, when in China.

I’ll save the day in the life blog for another post, as I’m still trying to figure out exactly what classes I want to take and I’m still trying to find my day to day routine. Trust me though, the difference of life here in all aspects from food, to mannerisms, to working out are some that are worth mentioning.

— Finally got my American number working, so I actually can text now. Technology baffles me, and I feel like I’m growing so old. Anyways, I love to hear from people so stay in touch! If anyone is actually reading this 🙂

Until next time.

Is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

A group of women standing behind me recited these words as they prayed the rosary. At 6:45 a.m., they were just a few of the hundreds of thousands gathered to celebrate the canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

These words caught my attention as I stood outside St. Peter’s Square. Each time they came back to that part, I recited it silently to myself:

As it was in the beginning

is now and ever shall be 

world without end.

Or, to put it simply, eternity. I find this an appropriate word to sum up the beginning of my study abroad experience in Rome, the Eternal City.

This place is truly magical. Each winding street has a surprise around the corner—a lively piazza, a flowing fountain, the Pantheon (you should have seen my face when THAT appeared out of nowhere), or a welcoming gelateria. The city is a maze, but that’s okay. Time and place don’t matter when you’re wandering around lost in the moment.

Then, there is the Colosseum. Despite being centuries old and surrounded by apartments and a metro station, this structure isn’t going anywhere. Even the Roman Forum, most of which is gone, is still eternalized in the soil.

And then I was given the opportunity to experience an everlasting moment. As I watched Pope Francis officially canonize Mother Teresa, I experienced the beginning of her eternal sainthood. It was beautiful and moving. For a moment, the Vatican was frozen in time.

Before the canonization began, we prayed the rosary as a congregation. This time, I listened to the prayer in Italian.

Come era nel principio, ora e sempre nei secoli dei secoli.

As I reflect back on my first days in Rome, I pray the rest of this experience is just as eternal.

 

 

I have been in Sweden for about two weeks now and have been loving it so far. Sweden is a wonderful place to be a student. Being able to meet international students and learning their cultures and customs has been a highlight so far. I live in an single dorm room, but share a kitchen with 11 other students on my floor. This has created lots of opportunities to meet my neighbors, and has forced me to cook meals on my own. I’m so thankful for that I met some Germans who cook their native food for me otherwise I would probably being starving right now.

The town of Växjö is only about a 10 minute bike ride from campus, and it’s a very quaint small town. I’m really excited to go see the local hockey team here in Växjö. The Lakers won the Swedish Hockey League last season, so I’m sure the games will be fun. Also in town is a really fun bar called kafe de luxe that has live music most nights. Last weekend when we went it was a swing band, and the crowd was really into them. I’m going tomorrow to see a psych rock band, and I’m really excited to go.

Classes are so different here. At Linnaeus you take one course at a time for five weeks instead of all your courses at once. I really like the system because it allows you to focus on your course, and really make it a priority. I’m currently in a Swedish Anthropology class and it’s really interesting hearing about our professor’s archaeological research.

Thanks,

Ryan

 

Buongiorno a tutti!

Italy is finally here! These few summer months have felt like the longest days of my life, but I am about to board my plane and spend the next semester in the Eternal City. Crazy, isn’t it? Since my last post, my nerves have definitely calmed, and as I sit here writing on the plane, it all feels so real to me. I will miss my family and a few tears were shed the days leading up to this; however, I can’t help but feel ready. I’m ready for a semester of self-discovery and most importantly, a semester of learning about the many cultures and customs that make up not only Italy, but the entirety of Europe.

Here are the 6 things I learned during my first 6 days in Italy:

1. Italian Men are a Bit Aggressive (But Also Very Nice!): Not in a physical sense, although, a few did grab me while saying “Ciao bionda” (Hi blonde). I’m not even naturally blonde, I dyed my hair a few days before leaving for Italy, which was my first mistake. They don’t see many blondes in Italy, so if you want attention, you know what to do. Anyways, when talking to Italian men, I noticed they like to be right up in your face, which I am pretty sure is a cultural thing. But, they will kiss your hand, touch your waist, be VERY affectionate. Thankfully, every guy I talked to was so kind, one even helped me with my Italian speaking skills! His name was Francesco, and he is a jazz pianist. Like, can you get anymore European than that? However, if you don’t like the attention, just pretend they aren’t there. Literally. Do not look at them, smile, nothing or they will take that as a sign to engage you. Just like in America, there are good guys and bad guys, so just be careful, but don’t be against going out your comfort zone and talking to them! Like I said, if you are trying to better your Italian like me, they SO appreciate it if you speak to them

2. Get Ready For The Heat: Okay, this could be just me because I get hot so easily. I’m a Fall type of girl, where it’s not to hot, not to cold. All you need is a light jacket. (Name the movie, people. Come on.) WELL, I do understand it’s still basically summer in Italy, but I was just not prepared for this type of heat. I didn’t bring nearly as many summer clothes as I should have. Expect to sweat. A lot. And to take a shower basically every day. With the hot days, however, come the beautiful beautiful nights with their cool breezes. They are truly wonderful. So, when packing, just take the time to research the place you are traveling and the temperatures that occur during the months you will be there.

3. Be Open to New Friends: I came into this whole experience knowing one person, whom I met freshman year of college. I never claimed to be a very outgoing person; on the contrary, I am very quiet and it takes me a little bit to open up around new people. I decided before embarking on this trip that I wasn’t going to let this shyness overtake me and prevent me from opening myself up towards others. Upon arrival, I noticed people traveled in maybe packs of 5 or 6, all of whom they knew before coming to Italy. And that’s fine, but I think it’s sad that people become so focused with those they know and shun anyone new who tries to engage them. During the first day alone, I have met so many people who have been so kind that I am glad that I came knowing so few people. I feel it would be a whole different experience had I come with a huge group of people. Not bashing the people that did that! Just saying, for me, this experience was so much more than partying with my friends every weekend. I have goals, one being to better myself and stepping out of my comfort zone whenever I can.

4. Eat Aperitivi. ALWAYS.: If you don’t know what aperitivi is, it’s basically consists of a cocktail, wine, any type of drink really, paired with a bunch of small appetizers. This usually happens around 7 and then after that, around 7:30-8, you go to dinner at a restaurant. This took some getting used to because in the USA, I eat dinner maybe at 5 because that’s usually when I get home from work. So, eating so late has really been a struggle. Restaurants aren’t even open before 7:30. So, instead of trying to find a way around, embrace it. The appetizers are SO good. We went to this place called Roma Beer Company in the district of San Saba, which is located in Rome. It’s completely authentic Italian food, despite the name. All you have to do is order a drink and then there was a buffet waiting for us inside full of different little snacks and goodies, emphasis on the GOOD. There was this little sandwich, honestly I don’t even know what it was, but it was the best thing I have ever had in my life. I will absolutely be going back there, and you should to! And all of this only cost 7.50 like wut. You don’t have to do this before every meal, but if you want to have a true Italian experience, I recommend going somewhere for aperitivi. You won’t regret it.

5. Keep a Journal: Each day is a new day, and with each new day comes a new memory. And if you are anything like me, I forget everything. Seriously. Even my friends know not to come to me for remembering things that happened in, say, high school because there is a 9 in 10 chance I won’t. Which is why it was such a blessing that I was given the opportunity to write this blog. However, there are some things I’d like to keep off the internet, so under my pillow at school, I keep a journal and each night, I jot down what happened that day, making sure to write down each detail so I won’t forget a single thing. This is truly a once in a lifetime chance and the memories I make now will be the things I will still be talking about and referencing for the next 50 years. Also, I want to be able to tell my parents, my friends back home, even my children one day the fun times I had while I was studying abroad. It can be a private journal, or if you don’t mind it being public, write a blog! It doesn’t matter how you decide to do it, but make sure you do!

6. Get Lost: Literally. We were able to sign up for a scavenger hunt through our school that took us to downtown Italy and to neighborhoods I would have never imagined finding or going to. With map in hand, we tried to navigate the streets, but each turn led us somewhere new and around each corner was another beautiful site to admire. Soon enough, we ditched the map and allowed ourselves to get lost. We ended up in Piazza Navona, with its huge fountains and busy nightlife. We ate gelato at a random place down a random street. We rode the buses that we weren’t even sure how to ride. We said “buona sera” (good evening) to those around us, and it truly felt that Rome was starting to become my home. Mind you, I wouldn’t recommend doing this alone. Make sure to have some friends with you, especially if you are out late at night like we were.

These were the 6 things I learned over the past 6 days! Orientation is over and school begins. I can’t say I’m too excited for classes because with class comes homework and tests and studying. Ew. But I have high hopes for the next few months, and I can’t wait to continue sharing my journey with you all!

Arrivederci i miei amici!

Clare