As the date of my journey is rapidly closing in, I am trying to imagine how life will be once in Paris and all settled in and trying to figure out a way to calm my nerves about my impending travels. While I am of course excited, my response to people who ask “Aren’t you just SO excited?” has been yes, but I’m almost more nervous than excited at the moment. People hear the word Paris and immediately all these idyllic images of romantic vacations come to mind and then assume I’m crazy for being so nervous, so I must then remind them that this is not that sort of trip. Some don’t remember, as much as I tell them, that this trip will be filled with classes, numerous tours, many walking trips, homework, living in a country where I hardly speak the language, and living with complete strangers, all sans boyfriend. It’s basically not the romantic vacation that most imagine when envisioning a 5 week long Parisian visit. Then, not to come of completely negatively, I must then back-step and go on to tell them that this will be an adventure, probably one of the biggest adventures of my adult life; an adventure that I have been dreaming about for more than half of my life and an adventure that I’ve been planning and researching for about a year. I know these feelings are not completely uncommon but it is nerve wrecking to think that in exactly one week from today I will be on a flight on my way to a new, unfamiliar country meeting up with a group of people who will (hopefully) very rapidly becoming my new close group of friends of whom I’ve only met a few times prior. Maybe I am just thinking too much into things, as I normally do before a big event, but I’d rather be mentally prepared for these things than just going into it thinking everything will be sunshine and rainbows.
Lynzee Byers
Lynzee maybe we should start a Thinking Too Much Club - I'm right there with you! You're right you guys will be busy but it sounds like a lot more on the syllabus than it will feel to you (the coursework I mean - I'll be helping you all with problems, etc., and class discussion is more about sharing something you were wondering about with the reading or something you noticed, etc., than any kind of "what happened on this date in Paris?"etc. Apart from class bear in mind that the majority of the things you're feeling the most trepidation about are things which will be relieved almost right away and then you can breathe :) Great post.
RépondreSupprimerI love the idea of a "Too Much Club!" I know I definitely had these same emotions before I left for the trip. While I was excited, I was definitely more nervous than anything. The prospect of studying in a foreign country was definitely intimidating, especially since it was my first time being in a foreign country without my family, not to mention for such a long period of time. I found that once I got involved in everyday life, though, the nervousness melted away. I was able to enjoy the trip more, and I eventually grew comfortable with living in Paris. Now that I'm home, normal life almost feels stranger than the life I grew accustomed to in Paris!
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