Lessons from Abroad: I am about to spend 7 weeks abroad. I will be in London for 5 days, and in Spain for the remainder of my time. I will gladly blog when I have downtime, but I will be traveling and such whenever I can. IU has provided me with an awesome opportunity and I will be glad to take it.
I am sitting in the airport, about to start my adventures abroad. My emotions are going crazy. I’ve been a hot mess the past couple days, going from being excited, to stressed out, to worried in a matter of seconds. My mom and I went to Half Price Books today before my flight, and we were going to go pick up my dad, and get a nice lunch/dinner before I left, when I get a phone call saying my flight is canceled… for the second time that day. So I say yes to a flight 3 hours earlier than I had anticipated, and upon arriving, my flight is delayed. Rush rush rush, just to wait. My first lesson, be flexible.
Last night I was packing- I know, a little late. But I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget anything, so naturally I procrastinated. What I found in my research (cough- Google search), were some interesting things to pack. Some things you might think to bring, but I did not.
- Umbrella
- Luggage locks
- Plastic bags
- A reusable water bottle (apparently they aren’t popular in Europe)
- An electric converter
- A pillowcase (hostel hygiene)
- I bought a new purse with two zippers close together in order to fend off pickpockets, on these zippers I put a lock. No way are they getting my gum… or passport.
- Travel bottles- at the last minute I decided to ditch my large (and heavy) bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash in favor of the same items poured into 3 oz containers.
- A towel- I would rather be safe than sorry
- A host family gift- I brought mine some Orville Redenbacher popcorn (he’s from Indiana), an IU cup, 2 postcards (I collect them, and it’s sharing part of me with her), and a picture frame as a possible going away present.
I am taking an overnight flight to London to visit with family and a long lost friend. My aunt surprised me with a ticket to Wimbledon, so I can’t wait to go to that on Wednesday!
Today, everything comes back to flexibility. My schedule was flexible (kind of), and I will get to London, maybe not the same route I was planning on taking, but close enough. Flexibility also is allowing me to go to Wimbledon, something my sister is uber jealous about. So there you have it.
Hasta Luego.
This is me in the Indianapolis Airport!