Travel Log 2: “Looking Behind and Looking Ahead: Rites of Separation” by Jim Webb. Sandwich, Ma

To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.

-Bill Bryson

I shared this quote in my separating letter to make my family and friends understand that I need to be the one experiencing my journey.  I will certainly share with them what I am experiencing both the good and the bad.  I wanted them to understand I’ll have to experience many of the things without them.  My parents were very understanding of my separation letter.  After having my sister go abroad they knew I wouldn’t always be able to talk with them.  What was even better was that they didn’t want to hinder my experience with too much contact.  I think the letter was helpful to give them an idea of what I wanted and how much contact they expected from me.  The letter also helped me to feel more prepared to separate from my common routine even though I haven’t had much of a routine for the past few weeks.  I’ve been doing a lot of traveling between family and friends this break and I think that the lack of a routine will help me in my transition to abroad.  I don’t think anything will be holding me back from my experience, the only worry I have is that I am a little nervous about flying but I think once I get there I will be fine.

A successful education abroad experience will be achieved if I feel as if I have grown in some way.  Maybe I will come back and be fluent in Italian or be more culturally aware as long as I have someway improved myself for the better I believe I will have had a successful experience.  An unsuccessful experience will occur if I fail to learn Italian and use English as a crutch to get by on.  An unsuccessful experience will also have me leave Italy with more biases and a more closed mind.  I am really hoping that I will have a successful experience and will do my best to achieve it.  I will measure my success in smiles, laughs, and the amount of new friends I make.

I know I will face many challenges that I did not expect and some that I knew were going to occur.  I am going to try my best to conquer any challenges in my path in order to help me grow as a person.  I think some traits I have that will help me embrace the unexpected are adaptability, optimism, and my adventurous nature.  I am also a very calm person and hopefully wont panic too much when things don’t go my way.  Friendliness and respectfulness are two other traits that I think will benefit me during my time abroad.  I think when I come to a problem I wont be able to solve and will need help even if I can’t communicate exactly what I need to say friendliness and respectfulness to the people around me could get me through a tough event.

The picture I chose to accompany this travelog is from my families trip to Yosemite National park.  I really liked the picture because I am silhouetted in it but the green trees on the rocks behind me are very visible.  I think this is somewhat symbolic of me knowing where I am going and for the most part what is out there but still having not fully defined who I am.  Going abroad is a big step in my life and will most likely be a defining moment in my life.  Hopefully by the end of my trip I will take another picture like this except I will be in full color.