Excuse My Soapbox

 

I wrote a post on the transatlantic flight to Prague, so now it only seems fitting that I write one on the flight back, just to bookend the whole experience. The last plane post was tough, but contrary to what I would have thought at the time, I think this post is even harder to write.

 

In case you haven’t caught on, I am totally sold on the whole study abroad thing.  And I intend to convince many students to at least look into study abroad.  Here are some reasons why I think any Rockhurst student (or any student in general) should think about going abroad:

 

1.      Rockhurst will always be Rockhurst.  This is what one of my friends from Rockhurst told me about going abroad—that Rockhurst will always be there when you get back, and the friends you have there will remain your friends.  Sometimes it almost scares me that I would have missed out on essentially a whole bonus college experience if I had never gone outside of my comfort zone.  And let’s face it, college is great, so why not get two college experiences out of your college career?

2.      A new set of friends.  One thing that really scared me was the fact that I didn’t know ANYONE in my program.  No one was even from my state, much less my school.  But while you are abroad with a limited group of people, they become your family.  My roommate Monica said that her mom told her she would make life-long while abroad, and I heard that from my aunt, too—and Monica and I have decided that we are going to be like that.  In fact, I have already mentally composed a Facebook message with life updates to send her as soon as I get home, and it has barely been 24 hours since I’ve seen her. 

3.      Some things are worth going broke for.  I’m out of money.  I will be selling my soul to the West County Y this break and to the Learning Center when I get back to Rockhurst in order to scrape up enough minimum wage to salvage my bank account.  And I don’t regret one plane ticket, one crepe, one museum pass, or one souvenir of it. 

4.      “Once you get the wanderlust, there’ll be no working for ya.”  An old Irish gentleman told me this on my plane back from Dublin as I was telling him about my travels.  And he’s right.  I’ve got the wanderlust.  I intend to see more of the world and more of my own country.  I am currently trying to figure out how to rebuild my bank account enough to visit all of my new friends in Denver, California, Vegas, and all sorts of cool places.

5.      The hardest part is the end.  My friend Dylan said that this was the piece of advice one of his friends gave him about study abroad, and I have found it to be most true.  Leaving home was hard, and friends and family can testify to the amount of tears I shed.  But leaving Prague has been infinitely harder. 

 

Basically, there is nothing more fun, more enlightening, and more of a growing experience than seeing the world while you are a student. 

 

Feel free to contact me if you want to learn more about study abroad at Rockhurst from a student’s perspective, check out study abroad options on the Rockhurst website: http://www.rockhurst.edu/academics/international/study-abroad/overview/.  Then just take a deep breath and just DO IT!

 

 

 

Nine Facts I Have Discovered in the Czech Republic

1.      My 3^rd grade maps skills teacher was wrong about me.  I was terrible at map skills.  Like highly noticeable difference in test scores.  And normally I am the last person in the world that you want navigating, but for one weekend in Paris I was the Map Queen, and I managed the streets and metros of Paris with (relative) ease. 

2.      I love riding trams.  I have gotten better at being alone while I am abroad, and I have found that there is nothing more peaceful than riding public transportation around Prague with nothing but your ipod and a view of the city whizzing by. 

3.      I’m into Art Nouveau.  I thought I had seen at least a little bit of every kind of art, but I had never run into the Art Nouveau of Prague.  Think bright, pastel colors—I just looked out my window and I see buildings that are yellow, blue, green, and pink.  And I refuse to leave without getting a poster by my favorite Czech artist, Alphonse Mucha.

4.      I can make new plans.  I had plenty of plans for after I graduated, but I re-thought every one of them this semester.  Staying in Kansas City would be great, but what about a year of Jesuit Volunteer Corps or Alumni Service Corps?  Or teach abroad?  Or apply to be a travel director?  Why not?

5.      I can eat Indian food.  An odd discovery in the Czech Republic, I know.  I have always been a notoriously picky eater, but I have tried a lot since I got here—Indian food being the most unusual for me.  But now I know that I can walk into a restaurant without panicking that I won’t find something on the menu.  And that chicken vindaloo is delicious. 

6.      I am an airport pro.  A year ago if you dropped me by myself in an airport without instructions I wouldn’t have been able to find the exit, much less my plane.  After several trips and a miserable 24 hours in the Rome airport, I could practically be a flight attendant.   

7.      I have many “persons.”  I have so many people in my life now both here and at home that I can share all of the good and the bad with.  My friends at home (and Sam studying in Florence) have kept up to date on all my adventures and have patiently helped me through both my homesickness and now my reluctance to leave.  But I have people here now too—Monica, Brinda, Dylan, Neave, Andy, Stef…the list goes on.  And I hope they will still be a part of my life after this semester.    

8.      I have the best family in the world.  And I can never, ever, even begin to thank them for talking me into doing this, providing me with the means to do this, and following every minute of this semester with so much joy for me. 

9.      I can start over.  Landing in a Czech-speaking country with no sleep, no friends, and no clue what my life was going to look like was terrifying.  But in only a few months I have found a home here—with people I care about, places that have grown familiar, experiences that have changed me.  And it breaks my heart to leave this new life, but I look back on my start here and I have hope that even though this will never happen again, new adventures will. 

 

Around the World in 94 Days

Today is a bittersweet day, because I have just arrived home (to Prague) from my last trip around Europe.  My dad asked me via skype earlier what my favorite city had been so far, and I didn’t have a definite answer.  So I have decided to give each place I have visited its own award based on what I loved most about it:

Budapest: Best City Along a River

I love cities with rivers going through them, but I have to say Budapest does the river thing the best.  With a castle, Parliament, and the Chain Bridge all along the Danube, it was beautiful to walk along there during the day and even more beautiful to do a river cruise at night when everything was lit up.

Munich (Oktoberfest): Most Comeback Potential

Oktoberfest is a cool German experience, but it is one of those things that you should know what you are doing going into it—versus just booking a bus ticket and a tent a week before you go.  With the right group and the right travel arrangements, as well as time for sightseeing in Munich, I could definitely redo Oktoberfest the right way.

 

Rome: Historical Heaven Years of theology, Latin, and art history finally became useful when I was in Rome.  Between wandering through the ruins of the Forum and getting to explore the Vatican at night, I don’t think I will ever have another experience so rich in the history I have spent years studying.

Berlin: The Cool Kid Place to Live

With tons of contemporary art, futuristic buildings, and a students and artists’ part of town featuring murals on the Berlin wall, this has to be some sort of hipster Mecca.  I had no expectations for Berlin, but I ended up wishing I could have spent more time there.

 

Ireland: Most Perfectly Met Expectations

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: Ireland was everything that Hollywood and my Irish heritage promised me.  I would love to spend a few weeks there seeing the whole countryside and few more cities.

 

Florence: The Total Package

It was hard to decide what stuck out most about Florence, because there were so many good things.  I got to see Michelangelo’s David, hang out with my friend Sam, and eat the best pizza I have ever had (Gusta Pizza).  Basically an all-around great trip.
 

Venice: The Pretty City

Venice was small, but stunning.  The canals and the colors make it unlike any place I’ve seen before.  Sam and I spent most of our day lost in random allies with flower boxes and laundry over our heads, but we were perfectly okay with that.
 

Paris: Too Good to Be True

Paris was perfect.  For almost four days I forgot the rest of the world existed and lived in a city of gothic churches, cool bookstores, crepes, art museums, easy public transportation, and just all around beautiful streets…I could go on forever about Paris.  In a perfect alternate universe, I live in Paris in an apartment with wrought iron, a flower box, and shutters, and I ride my bicycle around all day to get my baguettes.  And I’m perfectly fashionable.  Again, I could go on all day about Paris. 

 

Vienna: Best Decked

Vienna was a lot like Prague, only with a lot more Christmas decorations.  Think giant sparkling lights hanging over the streets of the city center.  Not to mention some out of this world Christmas markets.  Definitely the perfect time of year to go. 

I can’t believe I am done travelling, but hopefully by this time next year I will have found a way to add a few more cities to this list.