Austria: Pre-Departure: “Leaving for Vienna” by Katherine Holdcroft

 

Take the Phone Off the Hook and Disappear for Awhile: Leaving for Vienna

Before departing on my year long stay in Vienna, I have millions of thoughts flitting in and out of the subconscious of my everyday. The troubling thing however, is that until quite recently none of these thoughts had any real connection to going abroad. It wasn’t until about a week ago, that the wet blanket of realization wrapped itself around my sunburnt shoulders, and two words rang loudly in space between my ears, shaking me to my core, “I’m leaving”.

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Chile: “Pre-Departure” by Sarah

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Pre – departure

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Waiting has never been an activity I enjoy. As my departure day nears I have already had a hectic stream of emotions. Anxiety. Fear. Excitement. Wonder. Joy. These emotions are filling in my time before I board a plane and cross over to the Southern Hemisphere and land in Santiago! Once there I will be studying Spanish at Pontifica Universidad Católica de Valparaíso and staying with a host family in Viña del Mar. My home will be close to the beach (I found this out using the creepy Google Earth to locate my nueva casa for the next few months.) I am very excited for this and can not thank my parents enough for the support they have given me. I will use this opportunity to completely integrate myself in Spanish and learn to love another country. I cannot wait! Hasta Luega, cuando estaré  en Chile!

Spain: Pre-Departure: “Phase 1 Preparation Time” by Nick Gillett

Phase I: Preparation Time

PHASE I: PREPARATION TIME

Leading up to my very first European adventure- I am frantically attempting to gather every possible thing I might need or need to know for studying abroad. In a matter of days I will be hopping on a plane to the beautiful Spanish city of Barcelona, where the dreary Washington weather will be thousands of miles away and the Mediterranean climate will be patiently waiting. As I will be traveling outside the country alone (another first), a lot of thought has gone into this trip. For ten months I have been pursuing intel on what to pack and with six weeks in Europe and a thousand places I want to go; my idealistic and realistic ideas have to find a common ground.

 

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