I am studying abroad this fall, and I could not be more excited! It didn't feel like I was actually going to go anywhere until today. I finally booked my plane tickets. It feels like a dream to be able to go see a different country and live there for a semester, to immerse myself in the sights, sounds, and culture.
Honestly, one of the first things that I think of while traveling is food (I am a huge foodie). I think it's one of my unrealized dreams to taste ethnic food in every country I am traveling to. The way they prepare the food and the traditions that can be passed down, and even the quality of their ingredients, are all so much different than what we encounter every day. I am seriously looking forward to doing some major damage to my wallet by trying out authentic cuisine when I'm abroad. I just hope it's not too much for my wallet to handle...
I'm looking forward to everything there is to experience in the country I'm going to. One of the things I want to be able to do while I'm there is to keep updating this blog. I hope to snap some incredible photos that I can share, and also jot down some little things that happened every day, so that when I look back I can reminisce and remember what I did. This might be hard, because I'm not sure how often I'll get to sit with my laptop and write about things I did and upload pictures. I wish I could do this as a daily thing, but being a student with coursework is already going to be difficult to handle with all the opportunities to explore.
Another thing I want to do is to keep a travel journal. I love doing arts and crafts, and I love the idea of a travel journal. It goes to all the places you've been to, and it's something physical that shares your memories from a different sense. I hope I'll be able to remember to give my future self something to look forward to. I hope that by the time I come back, I'll have a huge book with lots of ticket stubs and drawings so that one day, I'll look back on those times and remember the fun I had.
Finally, one of the last things, is vlogging. I'm not sure how I'll be able to balance schoolwork and filming and editing, but I hope I'll come up with a solution. I watch many vloggers on YouTube, and they all say that it is amazing to be able to look back and see what you did and to reminisce on past events. I'm not going to lie, I think this will be pretty difficult. I might have to make these less often that I want to. ):
These are all things that will help me remember the times I had. I've read in many articles that one of the top things graduates regret is not being able to study abroad. I didn't want to take that chance, so I applied and I got in! I don't want to forget this experience either, because I went to China in the 8th grade with my classmates for two weeks, and now I only remember a small fraction of my time there. That won't happen this time! :)
