It's about that time.

After a day or two of trying to shove my life into the biggest luggage allowed on my Virgin Atlantic flight, it was about that time. Time to say my goodbyes and head to the airport. It was exciting, nerve wracking, and nothing. When it came down to it, I had no feelings nor could I figure out why. My friend had left for her semester, which later turned into a year abroad, in Hawaii and had the same odd feeling, or no feeling at all. It were as if it were an outer body experience. Hello Jenna! You're going to ITALY! Soon enough I was at the airport filled with nervous laughter, unsure if I were to burst into tears any time soon. It happened. As my parents and little brother hugged me sent me me off through airport security, I could feel the waterworks building. As I walked away, I told myself suck it up, suck it up, or you will never be able to stop. As I passed through security I saw a group of students from my program. Crunch time! Time to make friends. A word of advice: EVERYONE is on the same boat as you are, do not worry about making friends and know that these friendships will last a life time.

An inch closer

As time goes by, I am feeling the distance kicking in. Prior to arrival, upon arrival, and prior to departure, my program handed out a packet on culture shock. We were all so overwhelmed with excitement that we tossed it aside thinking, How the hell could we be culture shocked by our own culture. Needless to say, we were seriously mistaking. The three month mark of being home is coming up and I'm still irritated by the American culture and daily life. Italy and Europe as a whole taught me to think outside of the box and now I just refuse to get back in. They warned us about thinking outside this box while living in Europe. They forgot to tell us to do it back in America.

Decisions, Decisions

Deciding to study abroad is a big step in what I consider the right direction. The process can be long and overwhelming to many but the end result is beyond well worth it. It starts off with the idea, which lead to the research. A good way to research your options are study abroad fairs. Although I had a program in mind, I attended these fairs to look at all my options. After attending, your desire is more obvious. If your wondering where to go and what program to go with, definitely attend these fairs and get your options laid out for you. Once the idea is floating around up there, jump on it! It is important to go through all your options, discuss them with your family and friends, and recognize the potential pro's and con's of each. I personally studied with AIFS, the American Institute for Foreign Study and suggest looking into it if you are interested in studying abroad!

Back to Reality

Spring 2011 semester is starting its third week, granted we can deduct a week from snow days, and reality is hitting hard. I've been back in the U.S for two months and Italy is beginning to feel like forever ago and a minute ago at the same time, talk about confusing. It feels as if the overwhelming amounts of school work are burrying me and I'm being left in the dirt. This often happens to the majority of students and we somehow dig ourselves out. However, having returned from an adventure most only dream of, I'd finding it extremely difficult to get back to "the swing of things." All assignments are sort of floating in the air. Every so often I find myself spending hours clicking through my pictures from start to finish trying to escape and envying my friends and their newly uploaded "Taking over Florence!" photo albums. For those of you who have experienced this, the transition is a tough one but it's most important to remain optimistic and remind your self of your goals. The ones you've set since you were a kid, the ones you set entering college, and most importantly, the ones you hold sacred to you that others probably don't know about. Every so often, write those goals down and study them. Drill them into your mind and focus hard. It's a beautiful distraction.