Preparation

I head out for Montevideo, Uruguay in less than two weeks and I must say preparation is a major pain. Between packing, paperwork, last-minuted researching, grabbing prescriptions and wrapping my mind over the fact that I'll be living in another country for the next five months, I've found myself somewhere in between the stress of finding a profession I'm passionate about and graduating from college.

Tip 001 for Study Abroad Survival: Keep Busy. With a flight date set for February 27th, the first semester starting mid March, and no college course, due dates, or papers since December 19th, an over-extended winter break quickly becomes abysmal. Reading helps, a stocked refrigerator is both friend and enemy, exercise routines are only as good as your motivation, and never be afraid to cry. I've spent much of my time barreling through a few journals, reading the classics, falling asleep to Odysseus (How do you read that monster?), being reawakened by Raymond Carver, staking out the local library, and resisting the never-ending netflix splurge. Any time spent in comfort is good, but keeping busy is key.

Tip 002: Pack Light. The family pet won't fit, the toaster isn't worth it, and weigh the pros and cons between every inclusion (yes I could pack that neck tie but I don't know how to tie it ... learning how to to tie vs. ugly knot vs. having someone else tie it and handling it like a time bomb ... note to self: watch my language at the airport). Packing is another additional stress/learning experience thrown into the study abroad mix. The key here is coming up with a good list and trying to stick to it. Most likely, half of everything you pack is unneeded.

Buenas noches