Bon Voyage

This is a bit old but I thought I would post it anyway...

September 5, 2012

I can’t believe it! Today, I woke up at 3:45 am to catch a plane to NYC. It was hard saying goodbye to family and friends. And yes, I intentionally took extra time at the security so that I could see my family before I went to the gate. J I was really nervous at first about traveling alone. I was really depressed when I was on the plane, but in ten minutes after lifting off I realized what a huge adventure I was about to embark on and it was invigorating! The only slight problem was that I was seated next to a socially awkward women who lectured me about the importance of retaining language and her long personal story about her failing to do so. Despite this, everything went smoothly. In fact, everything went so well that we landed half an hour than expected. When I got to JFK, I learned that two other AFSers were on the same plane as me. I met Nicole, a girl going to Italy for the year and a boy, Ashton, going to Spain for the year. Together, we found our way around JFK (which for the added challenge, was under some serious construction). We got a little lost using the AirTram, but we finally made it to the JFK Hilton Hotel. We discovered that we were one of the first people here. We got to spend the next six hours lounging around the hotel while more kids filtered in. As boring as it was waiting for other AFSers to arrive, I got to meet some really extraordinary kids. Each person here is energetic and truly outgoing. Every kid has a unique reason for studying abroad. There is everything from needing to escape a small town to fulfilling a father’s death wish. I thought that most kids were going for the semester, but I couldn’t be more wrong. I am one of a handful of kids that are going to study abroad for a semester. At this orientation, there are three hundred kids! People are traveling to places like France, Bosnia, Turkey, Egypt, Ghana, Italy, Spain, Portugal…you name it! At first, I regretted not going to the entire year. (And I still kind of do now that I am here.) But it’s immature to compare this challenge to others people’s. I know that I can realistically leave for six months and I am really fortunate to even have this opportunity to study abroad for this long. Right now, I am sitting in my hotel room as my roommate, Meredith (from Boise, Idaho!), is updating her blog with her i-Pad. It’s late and I should get some rest…It is amazing to think that this time tomorrow, I will be on a plane to Paris! My next update will be from Europe. ;) À bientôt!

-Becca