My Meandering Mind

Hi! I’m back from my brief hiatus. It’s been a stressful and study-filled two weeks. Studying was my life; it had to be, with each of the two midterms I took being worth 50% and 40% of my entire grade for each course. I barely went out; there was a period of time that I didn’t leave my apartment for about 60 hours. I spent that entire time (you guessed it) studying. But, during all this studying time, I had a lot of time to be pensive (during the numerous study breaks I took). So, I thought for this post, instead of showing any cool places I went (which, as I said, were none) I would write this post in the stream of consciousness. What I write today will be what comes to my mind first. So, no photos, no editing (except grammar and spelling). True 100% me. I hope you enjoy this attempt of my mine.

An Imprint of my Mind

During these past days, the reality that I will be going home soon has hit me hard. BIG TIME. My days here in Lisbon, Portugal, Europe, are limited. It has been such a wonderful experience, that I already feel the bittersweet feeling that I’m sure will permeate my being more permanently starting 4 weeks early. There has just been so much I’ve enjoyed. Quite frankly, as much as I love Bellingham as my home college town, Lisbon has treated this college kid well. Everything is cheap, the nightlife is good, the people are friendly. There’s an organization that puts on events on a budget that allow me to see more of the city. It’s been a good time. It is going to suck big time to go back to a country where I cannot do the same activities that I have been able to do. I’m really going to miss being able to relax at a bar with friends after a hard day of class (which I know there are going to be many of in the upcoming quarter; I’m taking two upper-level math class, a physics class, and a honors seminar). I’m also going to miss the friends I have made. They’ve made this experience so much better, both the American friends and the European friends. My American flatmates shattered all misconceptions I had about living with 5 girls, and have been nothing but amazing. I mean seriously. Anyone I talked to before I left knew I was apprehensive about this, having never having had a sister, a girlfriend, etc. (Also, living with 5 people in general can be tough) I wasn’t sure what to expect. Luckily, I got 5 girls who are friendly and supportive, and there has been nothing more than minor problems/setbacks that were easy to resolve. Also, the friends I have made from Europe have expanded my worldview in so many ways. I feel unfortunately that going back to Bellingham will close my worldview again. Nothing against my college, but everyone there has a pretty similar worldview; it was refreshing to see how other people viewed the US. I will have to make a good effort to keep in touch with these people. They’ve made my stay here ten times better. But, I’ve digressed too far. These feeling ARE bittersweet. I’m also missing home for the first time since I’ve got here. There’s just some thing Lisbon doesn’t quite have. For one, I miss the scenery back home. Being able to see the mountains and sound everyday is something I never have taken for granted, but now I miss them especially. One of my numerous study breaks was spent making a slideshow of beautiful images from home to be my desktop background on my laptop. Lisbon just isn’t beautiful that way. It has its beautiful points, but they come mostly in the form of architectural beauty rather than natural beauty. I’m hoping a trip I am taking this weekend to the mountains of northeastern Portugal will help alleviate some of this sickness. I of course miss my family too. Talking to them via grainy video on Whats App once a week really isn’t cutting it anymore. I miss my friends back home. I miss Taffy and Pepé (my family pets). I miss a lot. But, I know that when I leave Lisbon, I will miss a lot. It’s quite the conflict. Leaving or staying. I’m set on coming home though. But, my future plans may have changed (hopefully for the better). Many of you who know me know that I’ve been set on earning an undergraduate degree in Statistics since I was freshman in high school. I have followed that path pretty religiously since I decided on it, and declared my stats major early on in my academic career at WWU. But, I’m pretty sure my mind has changed about my plans after my undergraduate academic career is done. My economic classes have been interesting enough to warrant this change. I’m thinking of maybe double majoring in statistics and economics to look into a career as an Econometrician. But, this career (which is modeling economics with statistics, pretty self explanatory) usually requires a masters degree. So, my solution…getting my Master’s degree in Europe. I’m gonna see what I can do about it. It would be an amazing experience, and would potentially open up boundless opportunities to maybe even work abroad (sorry Mom and Dad; just know nothing’s final). Europe has had that much of an impression on me. But, I’m still will be ready to go home when its time.

That’s the end of my thoughts. The exciting blogs will start up again soon. I travel to Serra da Estrela this weekend, Amsterdam the following, Coimbra after that, Budapest after that, and finally, Bordeaux and Toulouse. So, many blog posts to come for y’all. I will enjoy my vacations, and hopefully you will enjoy me describing them! Also, I submitted some of my photos into a contest at my university for study abroad students. The winner of each of the categories gets their photo used in promotional material, and a poster-sized version of the photo. Please help support me and vote at the link by liking or sharing my photos (and any others you like too). That would be greatly appreciated! Until next time,

Jeremy Caldeira