Thursday July 11, 2019
About 9 months ago I sat across from my parents at a local Bertucci’s Restaurant and told them that I wanted to study abroad for my entire junior year. Their first instinct was definitely to question my wild idea, but I was determined to go. So here I am, sophomore year of college in the books and ready to take on the adventure I was not willing to let pass by. In four hours, two other Holy Cross students, Sandra and Jennifer, and I will board our plane to Lima, Peru.
Quite frankly, it’s all very surreal. No matter how many informational packets, PowerPoints, and pre-departure meetings there are, there is really no way to feel fully prepared for such a new experience.
The fear of the unknown.
Will my Spanish be good enough? Will I fit in with my host family? What will the food be like? Did I pack all the essentials? The questions keep coming….
But just as with any new adventure one sets out on, the unknown is what makes it exciting; it is what gives it a thrill factor; it is the reason I so adamantly declared to my parents at Bertucci’s that I wanted to go abroad. In the months to come, I look forward to making the unknown a little more known and the known a little more unknown. I hope to expand my view of the world and learn more about both myself and others.
I’m looking forward to learning about and embracing the customs of my host family. For the first time, I am getting the opportunity to truly experience the power of integration into a different society. This is something that I’ve learned so much about during my first two years at Holy Cross, and which I have come to understand as vital when learning about and understanding others.
With my two STUFFED suitcases in hand and my backpack on my back, I head off on what the youngins may call the biggest YOLO of my life. Sometimes you have to jump and hope you don’t just land on your feet, but that you FLY.
Here’s to the adventure. Here’s to the unknown.
