Failte!
My anticipation has been rising for weeks. Shopping for clothes, planning weekend trips, and now saying goodbye to people I won't see again until Christmas. It's hard. I didn't expect just how hard it would be to say goodbye to friends knowing I won't see them for months. I also didn't realize just how much planning goes into a semester of studying abroad. There are so many little things to think about. Sure, there are classes and passports, but when I sit down and think about how much money I have to spend on shampoo and how many little snacks I should buy to save money on breakfast and lunch, that's when the worry sets in. Because I can't really plan this stuff before getting to my host university. That's what makes the anticipation rise. No matter how much I plan, I know that nothing will be the way I imagine it to be.
For instance, I have a one-week long break in the middle of my semester in Stirling, Scotland where I plan to visit London. Last week, I was sitting with my Mom doing my budget, trying to figure out how much money I have to spend on tours while I am there. Already, some of the tours I had wanted have been full or on the wrong day. It goes to show that planning is really, really hard when you aren't there already experiencing the place and the people and the culture. I have this feeling that once I get there, it will be much easier to plan things like meals and snacks and homework times because I will have gotten a feel for the city and the university itself.
Packing is an entirely different thing. I am going crazy with the amount of stuff I think I will need, when most likely I won't end up using half of it. I have heard packing advice from tons of people, such as use vacuum seal bags or roll your clothes. Hearing and seeing all of this is like eating too much ice cream. After a while, you just can't move or think so you sit down and sleep. That has been the past few weeks for me, at least mentally. But now that I am leaving for Scotland in FOUR days, I'm getting to that panic mode where I have to just forgo the ice cream entirely and figure out how the heck I'm going to pack all of my shoes and sweaters and winter wear.
The panic mode definitely messes with emotions too. Imagine that in four days you were leaving your family and friends (for the first time ever) to live across an ocean for almost four months. Now add a dash of social anxiety to the mix and there you have it. I'm a wreck. Though it is a good kind of wreck, because I know that this trip will change me as a person and I can't help but be excited for that as well as nervous. I find that usually, one does not come without the other.
Beannachd leibh
My anticipation has been rising for weeks. Shopping for clothes, planning weekend trips, and now saying goodbye to people I won't see again until Christmas. It's hard. I didn't expect just how hard it would be to say goodbye to friends knowing I won't see them for months. I also didn't realize just how much planning goes into a semester of studying abroad. There are so many little things to think about. Sure, there are classes and passports, but when I sit down and think about how much money I have to spend on shampoo and how many little snacks I should buy to save money on breakfast and lunch, that's when the worry sets in. Because I can't really plan this stuff before getting to my host university. That's what makes the anticipation rise. No matter how much I plan, I know that nothing will be the way I imagine it to be.
For instance, I have a one-week long break in the middle of my semester in Stirling, Scotland where I plan to visit London. Last week, I was sitting with my Mom doing my budget, trying to figure out how much money I have to spend on tours while I am there. Already, some of the tours I had wanted have been full or on the wrong day. It goes to show that planning is really, really hard when you aren't there already experiencing the place and the people and the culture. I have this feeling that once I get there, it will be much easier to plan things like meals and snacks and homework times because I will have gotten a feel for the city and the university itself.
Packing is an entirely different thing. I am going crazy with the amount of stuff I think I will need, when most likely I won't end up using half of it. I have heard packing advice from tons of people, such as use vacuum seal bags or roll your clothes. Hearing and seeing all of this is like eating too much ice cream. After a while, you just can't move or think so you sit down and sleep. That has been the past few weeks for me, at least mentally. But now that I am leaving for Scotland in FOUR days, I'm getting to that panic mode where I have to just forgo the ice cream entirely and figure out how the heck I'm going to pack all of my shoes and sweaters and winter wear.
The panic mode definitely messes with emotions too. Imagine that in four days you were leaving your family and friends (for the first time ever) to live across an ocean for almost four months. Now add a dash of social anxiety to the mix and there you have it. I'm a wreck. Though it is a good kind of wreck, because I know that this trip will change me as a person and I can't help but be excited for that as well as nervous. I find that usually, one does not come without the other.
Beannachd leibh