In less than 48 hours, I will be on a plane on my way to LAX, final destination: Sydney, Australia. I can't believe the time has finally come for me to study abroad in a beautiful city that I've only heard wonderful stories about--well, except for the giant spiders, but that's besides the point. For the next (almost) four months, I'll be studying in, exploring, learning about, and experiencing the Harbour City.
I have so many emotions leading up to this new journey. The longest trip I've taken out of the country was about two and a half weeks to various cities in China with People to People. During that trip, everything was taken care of--hotels, meals, transportation, sightseeing, etc. All we thought about were what we were experiencing and what to bring home as souvenirs. Obviously, this semester will not play out the same way, which is a good thing. Our living and learning situation is already set for us, and thank goodness they speak English in Sydney. This will be an opportunity to mature more by cooking for myself, living in an apartment style dorm with a few other girls, interning at a company-yet-to-be-determined, and essentially learning as much as I can about this brand new city. It's a very exciting opportunity and I'm glad that I have the chance to go.
One of the things I'm most anxious about is making new friends. You might think, "Come on, Emily. You're going into your third year of college," which is true, but I always feel like such an awkward person, especially in the early stages of meeting people. This week I'll be meeting around 70 peers in addition to the BU Sydney staff, which is a bit nerve-wracking. I'm sure everything will work out, because as far as I know, I'm not a complete psycho (right??), but I still wonder if I'll be liked and accepted. During the next couple months, I want to push myself to step a bit out of my comfort zone by being more friendly, socializing, and developing networking skills. I know I'm an introvert, which makes it quite a difficult task sometimes. I want to make the most of my Sydney experience and grow as much as I can.
Well, time will tell. About a day and a half until I start my trip down under. I'll try to document my trip here at least a couple times a week, so feel free to follow along. Also, I welcome any comments or suggestions for what I should do while I'm there!
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