Enjoy!
Not every classmate traveling with you is going to be your new best friend, but you are all in it together, so be nice. You may find that someone rubs you the wrong way, but it's important to remember that they have their own stuff going on. Maybe they are traveling abroad while important things are happening at home, or they're terrified of being out of the country and trying to challenge themselves. What will be will be, but please give everyone you meet the benefit of the doubt. While you're abroad, they are your family. And, it's only a week. You can make it.
You do not need designer Italian jeans. You just don't. However, that money could buy you a cab ride, a meal, and a ticket to the top of some high place with a beautiful view. Think about spending your money in a way that enriches your trip, instead of making your suitcase too heavy to run in the airport when your flight home is thiiis close to leaving without you. If you can buy it at home on Amazon, don't buy it abroad. You're not there to shop.
Eat at all opportunities, and sleep when you get home. You have one week to get the absolute most out of your time abroad. It goes by way too quickly, and if you choose to nap instead of adventure, you will miss it. For this reason, I suggest you eat at all available opportunities. "Busy" doesn't even begin to cover the Spring Break study abroad experience. So trust me, you don't want to be hangry for any of it.
If your group offers a morning run before breakfast, get your butt up and go with them. Even if you're not a runner. Even if you're barely a walker (before coffee.) GO. The sights I saw before 7 a.m. rival everything else I saw during the daylight hours abroad. The best reason to get up early and go with the group is that you'll get to see the streets of your city without the crowds. The second best reason is that you will be more alert for the rest of your day. If you need another reason, think of the friends you could make!
You really don't need to carry a backpack with a full-size hairbrush, Nikon, and sketchbook in it. Your cell camera is good enough. A short comb in your wallet is good enough. Honestly, skip the sketchbook all together. You probably won't be in any one place long enough to get that far. A weather-appropriate jacket, good shoes, and a cross body bag will be more than enough to get you through the day. Remember that everything you carry is going to feel like a huge burden by the end of a 5-hour walking tour. All those items are also potential losses should you be a victim of pick-pocketing or forgetfulness. Pack light day in and out and you'll thank yourself for it.
Studying abroad is a great opportunity to get to know yourself and how you operate outside the confines of your daily life. Don't be afraid to try new things and break out of your shell. Follow these five tips, and have a great time! Bon Voyage!
But alas, not all is as it may seem in the land of shared baths. One avid Odyssey reader approached me earlier with a series of screenshots and R.A. email forwards that seemed too good to only send to my mom for laughs.
It all started on move-in day. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, our protagonist, let's call her Becca, was fluffing her duvet when suddenly her mother called from the joint bathroom. Was it perhaps a gift left for her and the other new move-ins Becca wondered. Nay, it was toilet paper covered in feces that lay at the bottom of their shared trashcan.
Alongside the piles of hair that would soon be discovered tangled among their shower drain, a few weeks into the quarter, Becca and her roommates officially had enough.
As luck would have it, the suite-mates next door seemed to mysteriously vanish every time the bathroom topic would arise. Doors would be left unanswered and text messages left on 'read.' Opting for the most diplomatic option left next to calling in higher authority, Becca and her roommates left post-it notes in hopes their neighbors would comply with their tactful bathroom habits.
Photos submitted by "Becca"
Following the notes, a series of text messages followed.
Screenshots from "Becca"
One of my personal favorites is the question regarding air freshener. If your entire bathroom and eventually bedroom smell of number two waste, I too would be curious to know what brand of spray to purchase. Further suite mate turmoils are discussed in the email I was forwarded to by our anonymous Odyssey fan, which can be read below. One can only hope that the R.A. meeting following such a fiasco ended with a compromise.
Email from "Becca"
A lot. I'm not afraid to eat. Luckily, he's one hell of a cook. Chef, practically. It's kind of hard to watch what I eat when I come home from work and he has pork ribs, baked potatoes, and broccoli on the stove. SO GOOD. No hiding my love for food in that situation…
When we met, I put extra effort into my outfit, hair, and makeup because…well…I was single and didn't want to look frumpy. Now that we're together, if there's a day where I don't have to leave the house I never change out of my stretchy pants. And when I do leave the house, I wear a maxi skirt so I don't have to wear pants or shave my legs. In other words, I'm an 80-year-old grandma and he loves me for it.
Adulthood sucks. Constantly cleaning the house sucks. Paying bills sucks. Working 40 hours sucks. Some days I do anything to go back in time, live with my parents, and live care-free again. So I'm a little bitter about growing up. It's not his fault. And he gets it. Where's the fun in bills and chores? But he works hard, brings home a good paycheck, and does his share of the house work. And his share of the complaining about house work, too.
Hey, I'm only human. It happens. We're all human. We all fart. After being in a relationship for 3+ years, farts become a game. Who can fart louder? How many baked beans and cabbage can we eat until we explode? And let's be honest, farts are funny!
When we first met, I talked about all the crazy things I did in college. I talked about hunting at my cabin. I talked about the concerts I've been to. I talked about things that would make me seem cool. I didn't lie about anything, but I definitely focused on some topics more than others. In reality, I'm a major nerd. I love nonfiction books, biographies, memoirs, PBS specials, documentaries, nature shows, and investigative journalism shows.
I. LOVE. LEARNING. To my luck, he does to! We've spent many quiet evenings reading books next to each other on the couch. We watch nature shows together. We read field guides and then go bird watching or spotting for deer. Opening up brought us closer.
Not always. I need my girl time, too. "Bitch fests," if you will. But a lot of times, guys are just easier to hang out with. I know so many women who are catty and judgmental of other women. They gossip behind each other's backs. Guys just say stuff straight to each other's faces. They might duke it out for a minute and then move on. So it's just easier for me (who has no filter) to hang out with people who are so straightforward.
Now, I thought this might seem weird to him when we first met. A girl who hangs out with guys all the time? She must be banging them all. So it took a while before I admitted this one. But it works out well. I don't mind when he drags me along to hang out with the guys because I get along with them pretty well – and a lot of their girlfriends, too.
And last but not least…
Everybody poops. There's a book about it. But don't worry, I'll be brief. I tried to be ladylike for the first year and keep it discreet. But once you start living together, it's kind of hard to hide. I'm not saying you have to make an announcement, but it's nothing to be embarrassed by.
If You Call Yourself A Feminist, Stop Telling Other Women How To Live Their Lives
We should be standing behind one other and raising each other up, not tearing each other down.
With recent movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUP, we have seen a bit of a reawakening — a reawakening of the f-word. Feminism. I don't know if it's just me, but it seems as though the popularity of this school of thought is growing among my generation and even those younger than myself.
However, with growing popularity comes growing responsibility. Responsibility to ensure that the core of feminism is not embellished, changed or misinterpreted. Unfortunately, I have seen all three of the above happening far too often.
I know that there is no feminism enforcement committee to patrol social media, rallies and political speeches, but if you call yourself a feminist, then you better damn well know what you are talking about and make sure that you are practicing what you are preaching.
Feminism is NOT telling other women how to live their lives.
Recently, I was watching one of my favorite female stand-up comedians while I was procrastinating (as I often do), and something she said drastically piqued my interest.
I wish no ill will toward this comedian, so I will not slander her name, but all you need to know is that she is a self-proclaimed "feminist comedian." She covers all sorts of topics such as equal pay, chivalry and sexual abuse, and still somehow manages to make even the most serious of topic comical.
One thing she said recently, though, kind of rubbed me the wrong way. She was (without mentioning her name) discussing another female comedian and the number of times this woman discusses sex and sexual acts. She ranted that she does not understand why people believe this other comic is funny and stated that she does not believe committing slutty acts for the sake of a good joke is something to be celebrated or applauded.
While this, for lack of a better term, "sex comic" may cross the line sometimes and say some things that are extremely crass, that doesn't give the "feminist comic" the right to judge her and the choices she makes.
Feminism is about taking control of your life, your body and your decisions, not criticizing when other women are doing just that. Feminism is about empowering not only yourself, but empowering fellow women, and shaming them does the exact opposite.
If the sex comic wants to give a blow-job in a rest stop bathroom for a good story, then that is her decision and she will be left to deal with whatever consequences may come (pun definitely intended).
If you call yourself a feminist, then spend more time living your life, and less time telling other women how to do the same. Us women are a kickass breed and, as cliche as it sounds, we need to stick together. We should be standing behind one other and raising each other up, not tearing each other down.