Welcome back to school, everyone. I know that I've hit the ground running with everything that has to get done.
I sat at my first Study Abroad fair at the beginning of this month, and I was amazed at the amount of students who wanted to go somewhere. They wanted to escape their American life and try something new. I respect that. America needs that. With the election coming up and most of you old enough to vote, I want you to not only think of America, but think of the world as well. You're clearly interested in studying abroad, so take the world's opinion to heart when you stand at the poll booth in November.
It was difficult to think of a topic for this month's blog, but as I thought more and more about it, I realized that life is full of goodbyes. I saw a friend at the symphony last night who I hadn't seen in months, and I don't even think I said, "Hello," rather, we talked about school and her internship and whatnot, and then we said "Bye." Goodbyes are necessary to any conversation. Goodbye, Goodnight, Adios, anything. You don't necessarily need an opener to start talking to someone, but you need to know how to close it.
It's going to sound like a stretch, but school, and studying abroad for that matter, works the same way.
You don't need to greet school with open arms, in fact, most people don't. They are forced into the "next step." They trample through college day by day until they celebrate their graduation, their goodbye.
Openers aren't big when it comes to studying abroad. I remember when I walked in to the office for the first time, I had an idea of where I wanted to go, but I didn't tell very many people. In fact, it wasn't until I signed my papers that I told Facebook "I'M GOING TO TURN 20 ON THE AUSTRALIAN GOLD COAST!" (I've gotten more likes on Facebook for locking myself out of my house than I did for telling the world I'm studying abroad.)
I've included a blog post from my personal blog, anotherdownunder.blogspot.com, about the difficulties of saying Goodbye. You'll find, as you go through college and the study abroad experience, that it really is very easy to strike up a conversation with a stranger. People have an inherent nature of talking to one another, they just need someone to talk to. However, there comes a time when you need to leave, or you get plain tired of talking to someone, and you have to know how to bow out. That skill comes with practice and time, and I cannot teach it to you. I can, however, share with you the difficulties I had on saying Goodbye to my friends, loved ones, and acquaintances. No matter where you are, talk to someone. Make a new friend if you are given the opportunity. You never know when you may need to call upon that friend, nor do you know when that friend may need to call upon you.
You Say, "Goodbye." And I say, "Hello?"
One of the more interesting parts of travel is saying, “Goodbye” to the ones you love. The people with whom you bother to take the time to do so obviously have meaning in your life, otherwise, it wouldn’t matter. I asked my best friend a few weeks ago whether or not he was going to be around on New Year’s, explaining that I left on the 3rd, he said that he would tell his parents that he was going to stay and celebrate. I remember that our friends went over to his house when he left for Brazil and we spent time together, laughing it up for a while.
I’m not the best at saying it either. I always put it off, telling the individual that I’ll make sure to see them before I leave, thus putting the blame on me if I don’t see them. But sometimes, even after you exhaust your best efforts, the window closes on someone, and the realization hits that you won’t see them again for four months. That, my friends, is difficult. You meet so many people that when it comes down to the wire, it is hard to choose to whom you actually say, “Goodbye.” And even when you do that, it’s harder still to actually make the time to do so.
How do you say, “Goodbye” and who do you say it to?
For most people, you don’t. You simply leave, and that person wonders where you are or completely forgets you exist until your return.
For others, you may expect to see them this weekend at a party. A gathering of friends to give a hug or a handshake and say, “I’ll see you in May! Have a Merry Christmas!” Easy. Convenient. Personal(ish).
There are those with whom you’d rather spend all night reminiscing about the year or playing a round of Mario Kart. Fortunately, I live in the town where I grew up, so all my friends are here. Hopefully, when New Year’s rolls around, I’ll be with friends, celebrating and ringing in the New Year with people I love, with the anticipation of an amazing trip two days later.
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| This is how we play Mario Kart |
Or there are the ones who you just want to give a big hug and hear some words of encouragement before you depart. Those are the tricky ones. They don’t fall into the circle of reminiscing, they aren’t going to the party, but you care enough to say something. It is with them that I feel like a traveling salesman. I make appointments to see them. I meet them for lunch, or at their house. I explain what I’m doing, I seek any support from the client, and then I shake their hand and leave.
The only downside is that sometimes you miss the window. You check availability, and they’re gone before you even made the appointment. It never works out like you planned; you should know that by now. With those, there is no lunch, no home visit. No explanation, no face-to-face moral support, no handshake. It is simply a missed appointment. A client you expect to catch, but they flew. And a missed appointment can’t be rescheduled.
