Lessons Learned

Planning trips is one of the most exhausting parts of being abroad. Simply pondering "I want to go to Paris!" does not a trip make. Choosing flights, hostels, and sights to see, all the while coordinating with others and trying not to spend your entire bank account all go into putting together these European excursions. Last night, Kristin, Tracie, and I were putting together our itinerary for our trip to Brussels, Belgium the weekend after Thanksgiving. I am so excited! It is truly going to be the perfect week. I am going to Dublin the weekend before for a Doyle Thanksgiving with my Uncle Bill, Aunt Judy, and cousins Teddy and Billy (Teddy is doing a masters program at Trinity College), then I am having a Holy Cross Thanksgiving here in Cork on Thursday with a few girls from Galway, and then off to Belgium on Friday!

Last night, we planned on spending from about 8-10pm booking our hostel and looking a little into sightseeing spots, and then going to one of the pubs down the street for one of the Cork Jazz Festival's many shows. Suddenly, it's 11:30pm and we are drowning in metro maps, airport shuttle timetables, and hostelworld.com. It is a much more intricate and complicated process than I ever imagined. I was reminded of a family trip to California we took when I was in the 5th grade. We were all making fun of the minute-by-minute itinerary my Mom had planned, but now I am stunned and in total awe at the amount of work she had to put into it! You definitely need to be organized and aware of everything you're researching. There were times I had about 6 or 7 internet tabs up at once - the definition of multi-tasking. Once it was all finalized - ALLELUIA! I am thoroughly going to enjoy this trip because of all the work we put into planning it. The hostel we settled on is very close to the Godiva Chocolate Factory Outlet - not a coincidence.

I feel like these types of experiences are going to translate very well back into my life after abroad. And I think these types of lessons are very important which is why I am taking the time to write it down! I realize that as you get older, it becomes more and more your responsibility to take your life in your own hands and figure everything out for yourself. No one is going to do it for you. This really has to do with everything, like writing a paper, applying for a job, or dealing with friends, not just in planning trips to Belgium. Although I had already been to Paris, I didn't have as much to do with the detailed planning of that trip. It was a little frightening doing it for the first time because instead of having my parents there for me to ask every little question, I had to figure it out for myself. But like I said, once you get it all worked out for yourself, the result feels so much sweeter!

I hope this all makes sense. For anyone possibly reading this who is thinking of going abroad at some point, it's these days I know I am going to remember. Obviously seeing the Eiffel Tower lit up for the first time was amazing, but not life changing. Learning everyday how to be independent and deal with my life head-on - I'd say that is life changing.

I promise to write about the Cork Jazz Festival soon! Slan!