From Carolina to the Czech Republic


Upon request from family and friends, I have decided to give blogging a go! Tomorrow marks the beginning of an adventure of a lifetime. I will be spending the next three months studying abroad in the city of PRAGUE! Though I know little about the city, or the Czech Republic, I will excitedly tell you more about it as soon as I get there! The past several months have been spent planning and preparing, so it's hard to believe the time is actually here for me to head out!

I kind of find it hard to believe and slightly humorous that I am actually going to keep a blog. Writing is most definitely not my forte, and I cannot offer any promises about the quality of my blogging. I cannot promise it will be informative, thought provoking, or even entertaining, but I shall try! There may be some picture posting, thought sharing, event recalling...who really knows?!  


I think I will start out by sharing my feelings about leaving the comforts and joys of home, to experience the adventures of life abroad. Firstly, I don't think it has actually hit me yet that I will be moving to a foreign country. Being out of school for the past month and a half, I have been so busy with all sorts of fun stuff. Whether I've been traveling, seeing family, visiting friends, crafting, reading, or filling my time with other activities, I haven't had much time to think about the upcoming semester. The most likely scenario is that I will begin seriously thinking about the trip right as I try to fall asleep tonight. It will be like the night before Christmas, just laying awake anxiously awaiting the upcoming day! Though I am slightly sad I will be missing out on life in Charlotte and Raleigh, and will surely miss my wonderful friends, loving family, amazing church, and North Carolina life in general; my overriding emotion about being abroad is that I am...SO STINKIN' EXCITED!! Let's goooo! 

Here is a list of a few things I would like to accomplish while abroad:
1. I would like to be mistaken for a local. I hope I eventually get to the point in which I am not pinpointed as a tourist. I hope someone approaches me and asks me a question as if I've been in the country for years!

2. Discover a new favorite food. Though my mother's beef stroganoff and my great grandmother's carrot cake will be a challenge to beat, I am determined to find a dish that puts all others to shame!

3. Fill up my passport with all sorts of fun stamps from many different countries. 
4. Get out of my comfort zone. Maybe I'll try coasteering, visit some strange place, or eat a food that I can't recognize or pronounce!
5. Make some new friends, and meet up with some old ones. I have several high school friends studying abroad as well, and I would love to be able to give them a hug in Europe!
6. Learn to be more about Jesus and less about me throughout this experience!!

Well, my boarding passes are printed, my bags are packed, and it's time to go! CZECH YEAH!!

On a side note, my brother and roommate like to tease me for my random compilation of fun facts. So, I thought it might be fun to end each of my posts with one of my many fascinating and, often pointless, fun facts! This is my attempt to do something useful with all these random bullet points I have stored in my mind. Over the years, Snapple caps have provided many of these facts, and as for the rest...who knows. I  don't really know if most of these fun facts are actually true, but whether they are fact or fallacy, they sure are FUN! Enjoy :)

First Fun Fact: An average pencil lead can draw a line that is 35 miles long.