Such a mix of emotions about my first day! It was really sad
to leave my family back home and all of my friends back at Siena, but I am super
excited for all of the amazing classes I get to take and the warm weather. My
day started at 5:30 AM, when I snoozed my alarm twice and sprinted out of bed
at 6:11. I was so excited and nervous to go that I only got about an hour and a
half of sleep last night! My dad and I drove to the airport this morning. We
got to sit in some lovely city traffic, but we still made it with plenty of
time to spare. I got a kiss, a hug, and a handshake with money in it (classic
mackert, thanks dad) before I walked through security to take a shuttle over to
my gate. I first flew to Atlanta, where I had a four-hour layover (plus an hour
delay) before my flight to Quito, Ecuador. During the layover, I met a few
other girls who are also in the same program. It was nice to be able to discuss
what we did and didn’t bring, and our expectations for the program!
During the layover, I also found out that my host mom was
not able to host me anymore, which would explain why she hadn’t responded to
any of my emails! Luckily, I was able to get in touch the housing director, and
she got me set up with a new host mom at the last minute. We are due to get in
around midnight, and my host mom and the housing director will be there to pick
me up! Then, we are supposed to meet at my school, USFQ at 7:45 am tomorrow
morning to get our visas approved. Talk about exhausting!
These past 48 hours have been a whirlwind of packing,
planning, and goodbyes! I am definitely a lot more nervous than I thought I
would be. For many of my friends, all they could talk about last semester was
going abroad (looking at you Nora Gleason!), but for me, I was so focused on my
studies that I didn’t really think about how I was going to feel as I left. I
am definitely most apprehensive about living with a host family. I think I will
feel more comfortable after I see where I am staying, figure out how to get
around the city, and get some sleep.
Even though I have been fiercely independent my whole life,
I will admit that I am a little hesitant to move to a new country where I don’t
speak the language, have no friends, and don’t have a working cell phone. I
take comfort in an aphorism that I used to repeat to myself when preparing to
learn a new dive. “If it excites you and scares the crap out of you at the same
time, it probably means you should do it”. Get ready Ecuador, because I’m
coming for you.
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