Study Abroad Blog #1

I love traveling.  Always have, probably always will.  Short distances, long distances, I was always excited to hop in the car and go somewhere different.  Growing up, I have dreamed about studying abroad since I learned of my cousin studying in Italy back when I was in elementary school.  Since then, it has been an ambition of mine.  I went on many vacations as a kid, mostly to places in the Caribbean while on cruises, and I have loved getting a taste of the different cultures and ways of life.  It always frustrated me, though, that I had to leave before I could really experience it!  While studying abroad, I'm excited to be able to be fully immersed in another country's culture.  I want to really experience life in that area--to see the hidden gems that only locals know about, to learn the stories and traditions inherent to the land.  Sure, I'll spend a few days doing all the tourist attractions and typical traveler agendas, but what I really want to do is just live there.  It may sound simple, but I can get so much more of out of just living there than I could touring and sightseeing.
It still does not seem quite realistic that I will be studying abroad soon, so I don't have much in the way of feelings towards the journey yet.  I know I will be excited, but also very nervous about forgetting things--I always seem to forget something!  There also seems to be a lot to do in the way of paperwork, so I am a little concerned about that.  At this stage, I'm also curious as to where I'll be going!  I'm still unsure, so there's excitement and perhaps a little apprehension for that.
One thing I want to do while studying abroad is find a favorite local little place to eat.  I want to find the places that most tourists and travelers miss!  It would be neat to have a favorite little spot to eat that I can show to other people *when* I go back.  It might be a little hard to do that, as I believe I will have campus meal plans, but I am going to try.
Another thing I want to do while abroad is look at the biodiversity and how it's different from here.  This depends on the place, as I feel like I'd be less in national parks and outdoors in England than say, Australia, but I guess I'll have to wait and see.  If it is a location with much different wildlife, I want to experience that in parks or some other outdoor activities.
A third thing I want to do abroad is to join some clubs on campus!  Most of the places I am applying to have interesting clubs that might be neat to join.  It would be a good way to meet people with common interests and maybe form some long-term friendships!