It’s been perhaps years in the making. After years of high school French classes, after a few trips that cemented a sentimentality, and struggling through college repetoir. My second “study abroad experience” is merely a week and a half away.
My decisions to leave and go abroad were obvious in many respects: I’ve always loved to travel, I wanted an opportunity to change my horizons, and most basic of all, to just leave, to get out. The process so far has been complicated in some senses, namely of bureaucracy and carelessness regarding my home university’s attention to this process. Instead of doing a shorter program directly by the school, I chose to take part in a longer, semester-style trip. IES, the organization which I will be studying through in Paris, was fantastic. They guided me through the steps to get the oddly complicated visa process going as well as seemed genuinely interested about my well-being in regards to leaving. The reactions from IES balanced the sheer feeling of neglect, as my home school sent me only two emails regarding the process, never confirmed my acceptance until the last possible day, and provided few resources (just for me to talk to one girl who went on the trip last year) for me to adjust.
But now, I have the visa, all the red tape is over with, I’ve moved out of my apartment, and am almost just sitting around. Just waiting. Ah! Can I leave yet?
