a few thoughts

so you walk into your eap office with this big dream of studying abroad. you see there are dozens of pamphlets for different countries and different programs. semester. year. summer. whatever works best for you, there is probably some program that will make you happy. they advertise meeting amazing new people, seeing amazing places, getting college credit, and having the time of your life. they can help you make a decision about what program makes the most sense for you. immersion or language and culture? they tell you where to find all the papers for the application. they make sure you know all the deadlines so you dont miss out. and theyll answer any questions you might have.

but they leave something out. where is the "WARNING: YOU JUST MIGHT LOVE YOUR TIME ABROAD AND WILL HAVE A HARD TIME GIVING IT UP"?

nobody tells you about how much you will dread packing. how much you will hope that there is some way to freeze time.
but maybe its for the best that they dont tell you this, because what if people made the decision not to go abroad at all because they dont want to deal with how hard it is when the year comes to an end?! well that would just be really unfortunate. plus, i guess they are supposed to keep all the pamphlets pretty upbeat ;)

i've had some thoughts though. learned a few things even.

for one. take pictures. lots of pictures. but also make sure you really see what is behind the lens while you can. because whatever photo you might capture, it will probably never be the same/as amazing as what you will see in real life.
i probably taken a thousands pictures this year, some of which capture more than others. but mostly i am glad to have them so i can look back on them later and remember what was going on when the picture was taken in the first place. try and put myself back in the place where it was originally taken. i didnt really buy souvenirs this year, because those wouldnt really mean anything to me, but pictures? those mean something.

dont take anything for granted. not everyone will have the chance to see all the amazing places you will. sometimes i cant believe how lucky i am to have been able to go as many cool places i have been, or to meet the people i have met.. even if for just a short time.

above all, enjoy yourself and dont have any regrets. if you dont have the time to see something you wanted, think of all the other sites you did get a chance to visit and all the other things you got to do. plus, theres always next time :)

i've discovered this year that i like views. in a bunch of cities i have been to, i have done my best to get to the highest (or close) point so that i could see the entire city.
paris from montmartre:

passau (or maybe technically in austria?) i could see three countries from up here!):

grenoble from the bastille:

milan from the duomo:

lake como (from the funiculaire to the top of the hill):

barcelona (from the side of parc guelle):

todra gorge (from the top of our hotel):

bordeaux (from the top of the saint-michel tower):

edinburgh (from calton hill):

glasgow (from university of glasgow):

dublin (from the top floor of the guinness wearhouse):

cork:

nice (from parc du chateau):

monaco (from the jardin exotique):

cannes (from near musée de la castre):

and of course, the one i will never tire of even after having seen it a large number of times, and will miss like nobody's business. lyon, from fourviere:

see? im obsessed. and though there was a funiculaire or something option for a few of these, most involved a whole lot of stairs. and i cant even begin to describe how much i wish these pictures actually captured what was in front of me. oh well. at least ive got the memories :)

and just remember, every day is an adventure. treat it as such. :)