In September, I began hearing about the upcoming study abroad opportunities that would be available that upcoming summer. I had gone on one the summer before and was so excited to learn more about what the world had to offer. There were several different options that would allow me to be able to go places I have never been before, but the one that stood out to me was "Finding Frankenstein: The Creature and Ourselves." I thought it was such a fun title that I was instantly intrigued. I continued reading and it talked about how you would be following the path that was described in the novel, Frankenstein, and how we would be getting to learn more about Mary Shelley. At this point I had already read Frankenstein twice: once in high school and once for Human Event (the required honors literature and culture class for ASU), so I figured that it would be an opportunity for me to take a different and more intimate dive into the novel than I ever had before.

As May approached I was getting email after email from the study abroad office reminding me to finish the pre-departure work that would allow them to make sure I was safe the entire time I was away. It would also give me a little more background into the places I would be going and make sure I was organized and ready to go. At this point is about March and I finally decide to get around to buying my ticket to go abroad. I called the travel agency and the only thing I know at that point is that I will be staying after the trip to do some extra exploring. On my last study abroad, I came and left on the days that were organized, and I was so mad at myself for not allotting extra time to be there. I was not going to make that mistake twice. I booked my flight and it was scheduled for a week after everyone else was supposed to go home, so I texted out to the group asking if anyone would be interested in doing extra traveling after the program. I got a response from Jacob saying that he would be interested, and it was set! We met up twice before the trip so that we could do a little planning on where else we wanted to go and how we would be getting to those places. We were able to decide on going to Nice, Paris and Amsterdam. Then we looked into some of the must-see things for while we were going to be at those places and we realized that for some of the attractions you do have to book them ahead of time. For example, the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam sells out very quickly to the point that if you do not have a ticket months in advance, you will not get to go. Thankfully, we were able to get the tickets and reserved our spot to go.

Then came the packing. In the pre-departure work, it said that you should bring half of what you think you should bring. Honestly, I did not follow that rule. I brought about 1.5 weeks' worth of clothes because it had been said that the only options for clothes would be to either do them in the sink in the hotel or to go to a laundromat. My thinking was that I would rather be spending my time experiencing the places I would be going and carry a couple extra pounds than having to sit in a laundromat all day doing my laundry. Personally, I think it was worth it for me because I did not feel like I missed out on anything, and I can also say that I got stronger from carrying the suitcase around.

Finally, the day arrived, and I woke up way earlier than I needed to. I was so excited for the trip to begin and I was ready to go. They always say that you should be at the airport about 3 hours ahead of an international flight, and our flight was at 9 so I arrived promptly at 6. The whole place was empty. I checked my bag, slid through security and then waited for about two hours for boarding to begin. Getting to the airport early was definitely a good idea, even though I was waiting so long because I did not feel rushed at all. I was able to be very relaxed going into the trip instead of being stressed about missing my flight. We got on the plane and all was smooth. I had a brief layover in Chicago where I had just enough time to get a sandwich before hopping back on another plane to go to Frankfurt. Both of my planes were smooth, but if you have never been on an international flight be aware that they will be feeding you. The food will not be amazing, but there will be food so no need to worry about that. After the trek across the planet, we finally landed.