Let's Go

Today has been eventful.  I finally got to start the trip I have been working towards for so long.  I went to the airport super early this morning to catch my 7:00am flight to NYC.  Sarah, another girl who is going to Italy with me, met me at the airport.  We ended up on the same flight, which made navigating the airport pretty easy.  The flight to New York was very uninteresting, so I slept just about the whole way.  We landed at JFK earlier than expected, so we had a bit of time to kill after we got our bags.  We waited for the shuttle to the hotel along with Emma, who is also going to Italy.  Once we got to the hotel, we hung out with a bunch of new people until the orientation started.  Apparently, only girls go on exchange because I am one of like 4 guys out of the 30 people here. I'm still learning names, but everyone here is fantastic.  We've been hanging in 1 room the whole night playing games, and listening to terrible impersonations.  The actual orientation was pretty boring, but they brought in a woman who went on exchange to Italy way back when, and we had a good conversation.  A lot of our questions were answered, and she was very interesting to talk to.

Right now, I'm sitting in my hotel room trying to fight off the tiredness.  (I'm determined to finish this post). It's becoming more real that I am actually leaving home for 6 months, and I'm starting to get a little homesick already.  Nothing serious, but I think the next few weeks will be tough.  Hopefully I keep myself busy, and not think about home too much.  Tomorrow, we have a bit more orientation, and then we finally get to fly Switzerland, and then to Rome!  I'm literally about to fall asleep, so I'm gonna end it here.  I'll update after the Rome orientation is done, and I'm settled in with my host family.

P.S. - If any orientation kids are reading this, thanks for being awesome.

Tis' the Season To Lower Expectations

16 days to go.  Honestly can't believe it's finally come.  I've been preparing for this trip for so long, but it now that it's here, I feel like it's only been a couple of days.  A piece of advice to people that are applying:  it seems like things are taking forever, but you should cherish your time at home.  I've been so focused on the future that I kinda forgot to pay attention to where I am at right now.  I was lucky enough to have a niece born in late November, and that really prompted me to stop thinking about my trip so much, and just enjoy the moment.  I am really soaking up my time here at home before I have to leave it for half a year.  I'm realizing that this sounds a little negative, and that's not what I mean at all!  I'm so lucky to be going abroad, but I'm just realizing that I am very lucky to have the normal life I do as well.

As for my next steps, I'm just learning the language.  A lot.  Luckily I don't have to go to school until I arrive in Italy, so I can just work on it all day.  Now that I got my fair share of oversleeping, (honestly about 13 hours a night... nothing makes you feel more gross than not doing anything but sleeping all day by the way.), I am really diving into the Rosetta Stone.  I'm soaking up all of the information quickly, so hopefully I can get through a couple of levels. I'm becoming more confident in speaking it to people as well.  I was a little afraid to at first, but a lack of "language confidence" is the last thing that I need abroad.

I had my pre-departure orientation last Sunday as well.  It was rather boring, but I got to meet everyone that was going abroad from Minnesota.  Only one other person is going to Italy with me.  I think that she is placed outside of Venice, so chances are slim that we will see each other much.  One guy is going to Costa Rica for a year, one to Japan, one to Chile, and one to Ghana!  It ended up that me and the other girl going to Italy are on the same flight to New York!  I've never really flown before, so it will be good to have someone to be confused with.

Now, to address the title of the post.  Again, sounds negative but it really isn't.  At this point, I built up quite a fantasy as to what my semester is going to be like.  I'm going to travel all around the country.  I'm going to be friends with everybody.  I'm going to be fluent in Italian.  These are ok goals to have, but I don't think that they should be expectations.  These are, what I'm going to call, "ignorant expectations". Part of being an exchange student is having the ability to adapt.  Things are not going to go the way I think they are.  This is a fact.  Chances are, I'm not going to be friends with everybody.  I'm not going to see everything I want to see.  I might not learn the language as much as I want to.  Nothing I have done in my life can compare to what I am about to do. I have no idea how the next few months will play out.  But it's ok.  That's the reason I'm going on exchange. I'm going to change my entire way of life, but I'm just not sure how quite yet.  At the end of Night at the Museum 3, Robin Williams asks Ben Stiller what he's going to do tomorrow.  He says simply, "I don't know", to which Williams replies, "How exciting".  Certainly my new favorite quote.  I've been rambling on a bit trying to explain an idea I don't really understand yet, but I think that quote sums it up.  Each day abroad is going to be a new adventure, which is why I need to go into this trip with minimal expectations.  (See, I related this rambling with the title.  It just took awhile.)  If I expect too much, I'm going to end up disappointed.  I'm not really sure what to expect out of this trip, which is really exciting for me.

A little bit of a ramble, but I hope you understand what I am getting at.  Thanks for reading.  I'll probably update this one more time before I leave.  Ciao.