Preparing for the Unknown

The other day my friend said to me: “I can’t believe you won’t be here next semester; I remember two years ago when you told me you were thinking of studying abroad and now you’re really going.”

Ever since I was young I would daydream about what it would be like to live in a foreign country: to live in an old city and be one like the locals. And now here is my chance: this is actually happening. All those extra hours I put into my summer job, all that research, all that paperwork is now going to show for something. I could not be more excited— I chose to study abroad in Prague because people only raved about all this city has to offer: the culture, the history, the location, the beauty. And now here I am, sitting at my kitchen table in New York, wondering how I am going to make the best of my four months abroad. How much traveling is too much? What do I need to make sure I do? Will I truly be able to integrate into the local culture and be seen as more than just a tourist?

             These are questions I constantly think about, but I also have way more immediate concerns, like, how am I going to pack my entire life in two suitcases? Not only how, but what do I pack to be truly prepared? What can I expect to happen during my time abroad?

The answer to the last question is nothing. I can expect nothing. No matter how many travel blogs I read or Rick Steve episodes I watch, I will still experience a few shocks I could have never imagined. Living in Prague is going to be completely different from the American suburbia I lived in for the last 19 years; and with this one fact in mind, I know I need to keep an open mind during my time abroad.

And that’s kind of the fantastical part of studying abroad, right? You’re really not too certain what you are getting yourself into, but you know you will learn so much in the end. What you will learn is yet to be determined, but you know it will make you a better person. It will turn you into the person you are meant to be.

Once I get off the plane in Prague I’ll have my two carefully packed suitcases, a couple of Czech korunas, and the uneasy feeling of not knowing what I will be doing in the next month, week, or even that night.

Anything can happen and anything is possible. And in my opinion, that is the true beauty of adventure.