Author: Caroline Dienes
Program: Cambridge Study Center
People say that I am my parent’s shadow. I share their same interests. I have a perfect blend of both of their senses of humor, and I even, apparently, walk and stand like both of them. With my time abroad, I went to longest time without seeing my mom or dad. That is until they came and visited at the end of October. That was when the two people who truly understand and share my love for The Beatles entered into my abroad world.
The plan for the parents was to take a trip to Scotland, take a highlands and castle tour there, and then spend the rest of the time exploring Cambridge with them. The moment my parents arrived to the Cambridge house, my dad made an announcement that I wasn’t expecting, but, honestly, I should have saw it coming. He got out his wallet and pulled out a little picture of a trojan rabbit that appears in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. This implied that we were going to recreate the exact scene of the rabbit approaching the French castle at the real life Doune Castle in Scotland. And people wonder where I get it from.
Back in England, we went on a tour of Stonehenge and Avebury, two well-known mysterious rock formations. When we arrived at Stonehenge, there were probably hundreds of tourists there all gathering around to look in wonder at the stones. What were my parents and I doing? We were trying to figure out where The Beatles were positioned in relation to Stonehenge when they were filming Help!, one of their movies. I guarantee that we were the only three people at this worldwide known destination pondering over that particular dilemma.
Having your parents visit you while you’re abroad is similar to having them visit Valpo but times 100. They may have the intuition that you know all there is to know about your new home for that semester. In reality, you don’t. You may take them on a three-mile walk, thinking you’re heading to a specific tea place, but end up walking in the complete opposite direction. You may slightly run out of things to do in Cambridge and just end up watching Mary Poppins. Trust me, this is okay.
When you’re abroad, you’re almost thrown into this completely, independent realm. You don’t have a meal plan, and you’re in charge of making flight, bus, and hotel reservations. Your parents are not there to help you out and tell you where to click next. If your parents decide to visit when you finally get used to this sense of independence, things may be a tad off at the beginning of their visit. But let’s get this straight – it is no one’s fault when rocky situations arise. Your parents may not be used to the way you’ve been dealing with travel issues and unexpected circumstances. On the flip side, you may have forgotten your own regular family vacation routine. It honestly takes some getting used to it.
One thing you MUST remember to do it this: be thankful your parents are there. They made the trek to visit you. They put in the money and effort to spend time with you and enjoy every second of it. Having my parents visit made me remember all the other family vacations we had the pleasure to go on. However, I stayed behind after they began their long walk home. You never know how much you miss your parents until they see you in a whole new light. I felt a little different from being away for so long, but they still saw me as the same old Liney they left at the airport back in August.
Stay fresh,
Caroline
Leave a Reply