Study Abroad Prep
02 Jan 2010 2 Comments
in Study Abroad Tags: friends, studyabroad, video
I’m leaving for Wales in two weeks. Reality has yet to sink in. I probably won’t begin to comprehend it until I’m hundreds of miles up in the sky, flying farther and farther away from anything familiar. When I went skydiving, I wasn’t nervous during the two hour car ride or while we suited up. My stomach finally began turning violently when we were on the small charter plane that ascended two and a half miles up. But I didn’t feel the full blow of the experience until I braced myself and jumped.
Watching movies like Taken and Trans-Siberian, which show the terrifying things that happen to unsuspecting American travelers, has made me aware of just how vulnerable I am. Anything can happen. Trusting people can be dangerous. Even though there is plenty to be cautious about, I’m not going to let it keep me hidden away in my dorm room.
Packing for a five month trip to another country is not easy. It’s a teeter totter of what to take and what to leave behind. A good piece of advice my friend gave me was, “If you don’t use it regularly now, you probably won’t use it there.”
There is only so much I can do to prepare and so little I can take with me. I’ve traveled to Greece, Italy, France, and Egypt. But I know that studying abroad in a country will be an entirely different experience, saturated with things that words will struggle to grasp. But I’ll do my best. I hope my experience impacts me as much as studying in Egypt impacted my friend Tim. Take a listen.
- Salma
Twenty Ten
01 Jan 2010 1 Comment
in Daily Encounters Tags: Egypt, newyears, reflection, studyabroad
My mom tells me that, in Egypt, people celebrate the new year by standing at their balconies and breaking the old dishes. Adults and children hurl the cracked plates, tea cups, saucers, and bowls, and the streets are a symphony of shattering glass. Anything that’s stained or chipped is sent flying over the railing to meet its end with a smash. One platter becomes twenty splinters, adding to a sea of shards glimmering in the Arabian moonlight. Above, families cheer and sing and laugh. Everyone knows better than to walk the streets on New Years. The last time my mom was a part of that Egyptian tradition was in 1987, so things may have changed since then.
Rather than listing resolutions for 2010, I went through my 2009 calendar and picked out the most significant experiences, learned lessons, and accomplishments from each month. Each year seems to be packed with more and more, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s easy to be thankful for the good times, but it’s so much harder to appreciate the bad times. The combination of highs and lows sketches out the portrait of who you are, what you know, and how you see the world. So I’m happy for the hardships I had too.
I’m beginning 2010 by studying abroad in Wales. I’ll be archiving my trip in blog posts to share with family, friends, and everyone else. =)
Happy Twenty Ten, everyone!
~ Salma
