NicGif's Adventures

Life after study abroad

Well, I have officially been home now for a month and a half. The transition was difficult but I survived! I got the position in the International office so I can get my international “fix” working with students in my own university from other countries. I’m also working in a mexican restaurant so I can practice my Spanish! I can already tell it is getting worse though. :/ I think it is so crazy how quickly I jumped right back into my old life. It feels like I never even left sometimes. It is really great to be back, I missed the people here more than anything, but I came back at an awkward time in life. Everyone of my friends is graduating, growing up etc… Life changes are occurring and I feel stuck because I am not graduating anytime soon. All of my friends are growing up without me- I’m not ready to be an adult. I also feel sort of worthless. Life was such an adventure the past 6 months, and now I just go to work and come home. Nothing special, nothing to forward my life, just the daily grind. One goal I do have since being back is to get back into better shape. Study abroad did a number on my body. I have been doing a workout every day for the past month called insanity. It is so hard. I’ve also been running 3/4 times a week training for my first 5K! That is what has been keeping me busy. It has been wonderful to eat Mexican food again, and drive my car, and the convenience of living in the states. I Just need to see the positive aspect in every situation.

Home

As I am writing this I am waiting to board my plane to the US!! Wow. The past 6 months have flown by. Our last stop in Paris was really nice. We only had 1 & 1/2 days to see Paris so I was busy to say the least, and now I am exhausted. Paris is very dirty of course, and busy just like any other huge city. Many people have mixed emotions about Paris, but I went into it with very low expectations and I was pleasantly surprised. Just going to see the Eiffel Tower was worth it to me. It is so impressive. I didn’t get to see the Louvre because it was randomly closed. So I didn’t get to see the Mona Lisa. Bummer. But other than that I’m not too much of a museum person, and I had a lot to see in one day. I did two walking tours. One was about the Moulin Rouge area which was really interesting, and the other was about the Left bank and Latin Quarter. We had absolutely gorgeous weather both days. Which made the experience that much better. I didn’t get to try much french food because at this point I am running very low on funds, and Paris is super expensive. I enjoyed my short stay in Paris, there is a lot to do and see. It is definitely one of those places you only go once I think. I can’t believe my time here is Europe has come to an end. I feel so beyond blessed to have had the opportunity to come here and travel and fulfill one of my life long dreams. I couldn’t have done it without the help and support of my amazing family.  I’m heading home broke, jobless, and a whole year behind in school. But every sacrifice was worth the last 6 months. I had to leave my friends, boyfriend, and family. One of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I left everything I knew, and I left my comfort zone all for the experience of a lifetime. I want to encourage everyone to take the opportunity to travel, live or study abroad. Or even just get out of your own city for a bit. It is amazing what you will see, learn, and experience. You wont regret it. I know I won’t be traveling anytime too soon, I have to save my money again!! Like I said- I’m broke. BUT I do have an interview for a student position in the International office at my University the next day I get back. I’m diving right back into real life!….Hopefully, if I get the position, this can be a way to experience the international world from a different point of view. I’m excited/scared for whatever the future holds for me, but whatever it is I know it’s going to be wonderful.

Today we had a quick trip to see our friend, Marlies in Antwerp, Belgium! :) 

Amsterdam was somewhat of a culture shock. The town itself was my absolute favorite. The city is gorgeous! Old romantic buildings with beautiful canals, I can’t even imagine how amazing it is in the spring or summer! There is a lot of history here, and a ton of museums to see- if only we had had more time. Since we booked our flights wrong we only had one day to spend in Amsterdam. The evening we got there our friends from the netherlands came to pick us up at the airport! We had dinner, and then they showed us around town. The next day we took a walking tour, and we saw the Anne Frank House, which was really interesting! It was definitely a culture shock experience to see the alternative side of Amsterdam. Never in my life have I ever seen anything like the Red Light District or people walking around town at 8 in the morning smoking hash. But that’s what this is all about- experiencing new cultures right? I’m trying to keeping an open mind about all of these new cultural experiences. Our tour guide did a really good job “summing up” Amsterdam for us. With all of the horrible things that occurred during the war in The Netherlands- now they are very much a free rights- do whatever you want to do that makes you happy-no discrimination kind of thing. Which I understand and respect. But I’m not sure if legalized prostitution is something I will ever support, I just can’t seem to find any good in it. Especially with all of the human trafficking that occurs. Also, something I found interesting about Amsterdam was that Dutch people smoke less hash than many many other countries in the world, and it’s legal there. Guess who was in the top four? USA, Canada, Australia, New England. Surprised? I was. Everyone rides bikes which is amazing. I wish the US was more geared towards bicycles because riding bikes is one of my favorite things!

Denmark is Cold. End of story. Also, I lOVE that everyone rides bikes here. 

What to do with my life now?

SO my goal has always been to study abroad, and now I achieved that I need to figure out my next goals. I have one year of undergraduate left, and then decisions about the real world are needed to be made! I finally have an idea about what I would like to do for a career. I would love to work in an international office, maybe start as a secretary and then work as a study abroad coordinator. Now how do I make that happen? I need a masters degree for sure, but in what? And what other experiences do I need? I need help! The big kid world is way too close for comfort.

We are finally in Sweden! The first day we arrived late to our friend Sanna’s university town, Jonkoping. We had a fun night out, and the next day we drove to her hometown, Klippan! It’s been really nice to be in an actually home, with a dishwasher and homey feel. Her mom cooked us swedish meatballs which were amazing, and we had a lazy relaxing day on Friday. Today we went to a town called Molle which has some interesting/controversial wooden art structures. We hiked down to this area- (which was quite a hike!!) and spent some time down by the art structures and ocean. It was really peaceful and adventurous and wonderful. Then we went to the nearby town Helsingborg for lunch and shopping. I had pretty great self control if I do say s omyself. The shopping in Sweden is amazing! Tonight we’re having a girls’ movie night and popcorn, and tomorrow we’re heading to her parent’s summer house for a picnic! Monday we will head to Copenhagen, Denmark.

Picture in front of the old Berlin Wall, view of Jena, and Pretzels!

Rialto Bridge and canal in Venice. 

Germany

Well Germany as been amazing. It it weren’t for the cold dreary weather all the time it might be somewhere I would like to live! I hate the cold so I could never live there, but the 2 towns we visited in eastern Germany I LOVED. The first, Berlin, is perfect for students. I loved learning about all of the history, and it was nice having our own friends from there show us around and tell us bits of information. Of course we went to see all of the typical landmarks, checkpoint charlie, east side gallery of the berlin wall, etc… But we also were able to see the not so touristy stuff and it was nice. Our friend Eli met us in Berlin, and on the second night her and her friend cooked us typical German Schnitzel- basically like pork chops with potatoes and vegetables. We also tried the famous curry wurst, and other local foods! After exploring Berlin we went to our friend Eli’s university town, Jena, for a day. I think this kind of stuff is my favorite part. Getting to see where our friends live, and all of the places they’ve told us stories about. Her university town was perfect! I would love to go to school there. It was small but so adorable and cozy and very much a town full of students. I loved it! She showed us around her town, and then came time to say goodbye- the worst part :( But I am sure that I will meet again. Now we are spending our last night in Berlin, and tomorrow we fly to Sweden to meet up with our friend Sanna! XOXO