With the ending of Susquehanna’s semester, this will be my last blog post. This blog began as a way for me to continue making money while abroad because I always feel the compulsion to be doing that. It also was a way for me to practice my creative writing skills that have fell by the wayside since leaving high school. Throughout the semester, my blog was an opportunity for my friends and family to get a glimpse into my mind and experiences from an ocean away. I have always found a voice through writing, even if it's just an unstructured thought dump. To any future study abroad students reading this that enjoy writing, strongly consider being a blogger because it was a beneficial experience for me and a very easy way for family to feel like they are being kept up to date (because it’s hard to call everyone each week).
One of the most common things I’ve been asked since coming home is “are you glad you went?”. Even though it can be hard to talk about yourself or hard to brag about something you did without any of your loved ones, the answer to that question is always easy: a quick yes. Studying abroad was a decision I agonized and overthought and worried about for over a year. Even after I had made the final decision to go, the knowledge that I was leaving and all the concerns I had sat like a dark, heavy, scary cloud over me every day and night. How could something so amazing have haunted me so greatly? Overall, one of my biggest anxieties was that my leaving was going to change things at home and I wasn’t ready for that. Whether I was thinking about my relationship, my personality, my family, or outlook on the world, the thought of the consequences of undertaking such a big change was incredibly scary. And now, looking back on those anxieties, I do have sympathy for that version of myself. However, I also am sad for her because so many hours were wasted agonizing when, of course, I turned out to be wrong! That isn’t to say that nothing has changed because I am personally changed forever, my memories and self-confidence and much more. However at the same time, my roots are still firmly planted; I was not ripped away from the comforts of my life never to return to happiness again. My relationship made it through to the other end better than ever and everyone I loved still held that love. So, after all those anxieties and hours spent wondering if I was doing the right thing, it is a massive relief to be able to answer such an easy yes to that common question. Studying abroad is terrifying and wonderful all at once. I am not one of those people that subscribes to the idea that ‘humans should strive to always be uncomfortable because that means you’re growing’. Being uncomfortable does usually produce growth of some manner, but so can being comfortable, as long as you still push yourself to always be learning and trying and making yourself proud. Studying and living abroad is not always for everyone, but I believe it is always worth the experience and is especially only going to be as good as the effort you put into it. For me, it was a perfect method of practice for independence and seeing as much of the world as you can. Please try and see as much of the world as you can, because you also will always be able to say that yes, you’re glad you went too. Thank you for keeping up with me over this semester! Safe travels and happy holidays!
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Two weeks of being home has snuck up on me! Although a quick family trip sped up a few days, overall the two weeks sped by without much of a chance to realize it was happening. And yet, that’s one of the best things about winter break; you get so caught up in enjoying your days that you don’t even pay attention to how quickly they pass. Luckily for us in the Alicante group, our break started early so we’ve barely gotten started! In these couple weeks however, I have found myself missing Alicante in small moments. Seeing an Instagram ad for a store in the town, browsing through old pictures. Even though I’m relishing the physical closeness to everyone I love, this time apart from Spain has really allowed the fact that I am not returning to sink in. That can be a sad thing! In my reflections on my time abroad, I have thought about what suggestions I would give someone getting ready to go to Alicante. So, if you are preparing to go abroad or specifically to Alicante, here are some packing suggestions!
First off, one thing I would’ve changed about my packing is more warm clothes. Before leaving, we were given the impression that it is constantly summer weather in Alicante and the temperatures would only dip in our last bit of time there. Consequently, I only packed a couple sweatshirts and 3 or 4 long sleeve shirts. We were wrong! By the last week of October into early November, the mornings were chilly and wind running through campus buildings didn’t make the days much warmer. In comparison to East Coast winters, it was still warm, but it seemed much colder without access to sweaters or jackets. I bought a jacket from Zara before it was even chilly and ended up wearing it every day as an extra layer. Central heat is very rare in Alicante because of the sky-high energy costs, so the apartments were as cold (if not colder) than the outside especially at night. Haley and I were fine sleeping with down comforters and sweatshirts, but those floors were chilly without carpet or the warm rush of indoor heating. In conclusion, Alicante is still definitely not close to the winter temperatures I am back to experiencing now, but make sure to bring a jacket and some warmer shirts even if you only need them for the last month. It’s worth it! Another packing suggestion of mine is one you will find on all travel sites but I didn’t heed it: leave room for things you will buy! When I was packing for going abroad, I kept telling myself that I won’t need to buy any clothes and any gifts I get will be small, so there’s no real need for extra room. I definitely underestimated myself. Even if you aren’t a big shopper while at home, being in another country is a whole different experience and that feeling of limited time access will convince you to buy things you would likely walk away from at home. My friends and I probably used the phrase “You’re in [whatever country], when are you going to see this thing again?”, a hundred times. It was dangerous. I also ended up buying all my Christmas presents while in Spain, which is making my December much easier but made my suitcases much heavier. In the end, everything was able to fit and the luggage was underweight, so no real damage was done. In hindsight though, I recommend just assuming you will buy more than you think and packing accordingly. My last quick suggestion is remember to bring a gift for your host mom/family! It is not necessarily expected, but is always appreciated and everyone in your program will be doing it too. A gift specific to your town is great and special, though something from America in general is cool too! I brought some Baltimore-specific gifts to my host mom, including an Old Bay canister and speciality candy popcorn. Host families aren’t in it for the gifts, but it is always nice and respectful to give a little something back. Plus it can spark conversation! Hopefully I will be able to put some of these packing suggestions to use again someday if I am able to return to Europe, but for now I hope someone preparing to go abroad will find them useful! I have officially been back in America for a full week now and it has both been very comforting and taught me a lot. Even when you have been away for 3 months in a completely different continent, your muscle memory kicks right back in as soon as you get home. You drop your bags in the same place, go through your night routine the same way, hear the exact same creaks on each stair as you walk down. Home is such a big part of our lives that even with a long time away, it sits here and stays the same waiting for your return. Our travel home was long and tiring but not as bad as we had made it out to be. A lesson from the well-worn traveler: layovers may be annoying but they are much better than sprinting through airports or worrying about delays causing missed connections. No matter how long a boarding took, we never had to be anxious about getting to the next connection. Now, this comfort may not have made our overnight layover in Boston any less uncomfortable or exhausting, but at least we always knew we would be on time. Another quick tip: security closes at a certain hour! Once we arrived at the domestic terminal from the international terminal, we were too late and had to sit in pre-security. To pass the time, we went to a sports pub and ordered as slowly as we could. Funnily enough this Boston sports pub was one of the best places we could have gone to for our reentry into American life. Sitting there eating fried mozzarella sticks listening to American Christmas music and bar patrons bantering with relaxed servers in sweatshirts: it really felt like we were home again. Everything warm and American was right there with us and we felt so comforted. Somehow you miss the ambient noise of a televised football game even without being a football fan! Spending a few hours of our overnight layover in Americana central really helped us get through it and adjust to being back home that much quicker. Our final plane back to Philadelphia went smoothly (although we had some lost and delayed bags to deal with afterward). Reuniting with parents and siblings in baggage claim was just as sweet as you imagine it to be and that’s when the slipping back into normal routines happens so quick, you don’t even realize it. You reunite with other family, lots of big hugs and the constant question of “how tired are you? I bet exhausted”, to which you can only sigh and agree. I found that being back home wasn’t quite as system-shocking or overtly magical as you build it up to be while abroad, but it’s not any less wonderful to be back somewhere comfortable. I’ve been working through my list of foods that I missed and that is definitely fun. I’ve also caught myself a couple times feeling that sense of safety and comfort and realizing “that’s what I missed all that time”. I do miss things about my time in Spain and am sure I will miss more as time passes, but for now home is definitely where the heart is. |
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