Author: Maia Moore
Program: Hangzhou, China
Old World Architecture, Matt Smok
August 25th.
237th day of the year.
A date 117 days away.
The day I arrive in China.
My 20th birthday.
To say that I’m experiencing a feeling somewhere between excitement and nervousness would be an understatement. Honestly, I’m not even sure what I’m feeling right now. I don’t think the realization that I will be spending a semester on the other side of the world has hit me just yet. I’m still in the “calm before the storm” phase. The storm probably won’t hit until August 24th, when I’m in O’Hare airport trying to convince my mom not to board the plane with me.
Oddly enough, we’re arriving in Hangzhou on my 20th birthday. While I don’t relish the idea of spending the day on a 13 hour flight, at least I can look back and say that I was doing something completely different for my birthday, Last year, all I did was attend class and eat pizza from the cafe. However, this will be the first birthday I spend without my family and friends. This is also the birthday that I officially leave my “teenage” years behind. Although this birthday will be an emotional and significant one, I’ve been planning to study abroad for a long time and won’t turn back now.
I suppose my path for study abroad began long ago. I’ve always loved traveling and so has my family. My dad has been to over 30 different countries. Whenever he returned home from his travels, with him, he would bring a gift and a story. Dining in India, exploring the Outback of Australia, joining an impromptu street band in Spain, these are just some of the enchanting stories he would tell. I would listen vehemently, imagining myself in his place. At the end of his tales, he would always say to me, “One day, you will have your own stories to tell.” So it seems that the time has come for me to create my own stories. I don’t know how this particular story will end, but I look forward to writing it.
-Maia
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