And So it Begins…..

 

Hey everyone! I’m Alexis and am a senior in the College of Textiles here at NC State. For my last year, I wanted to do something exciting to end my college career so I decided to study abroad again. I previously studied abroad in Florence, Italy for the 2011 Spring Semester and I loved it so much that I wanted to do it one more time. This time, I chose to go to Ireland and in two days I’ll be on my plane from Charlotte heading off to Cork where I will be spending, what I hope to be, one of the best semesters of my college career. For the next three and a half months, I will be attending University College Cork which is located on the southern tip of Ireland. While I can’t wait to get there and start classes, I have been busy planning and organizing everything I need to bring with me. Even though I have done this before, it still doesn’t get any easier trying to pack your entire life into ONE suitcase.

This past week has been very chaotic between finishing off my last week at my summer job, getting everything ready for Ireland, and signing up for classes. I have been driving all over town buying last minute items like 8 million memory cards for my camera and some euros so I have money when I get over there. Every time I get finished with one task, I realize I forget something else and am back to running around like a crazy person. Not only have I been buying things, I have also had the fun task of  tearing apart my entire room in trying to decide what was going to make the cut and come with me to Ireland. Since I am going in the Fall/Winter I am having to take a bunch of bulky jackets and boots which means I can take fewer items than what I wanted to. This means that sadly 😦 some clothes had to go back into my closet, but having the opportunity to study abroad makes it all worth it!

In addition to packing, I have also spent a lot of time online  on UCC’s website and emailing my advisor over at UCC trying to finalize my schedule. It looks like I FINALLY have that sorted out and  now I can TRY, being the key word, to relax on my last day at home before leaving. Although the chances of that happening are very slim because I’m sure I’ll wake up tomorrow morning and remember something else that I forgot to do.

Even though this week has been very stressful, I am beyond excited to finally arrive in Ireland and start a new adventure! I can’t wait to meet new people and experience a different culture and to just enjoy every minute of my upcoming journey. Now I have to unfortunately put aside my dreaming of beautiful Ireland and get back to reality and continue packing so I can eventually get there. I hope you all enjoy reading my blog and I’ll be writing to you guys soon!!!!

P.S. Wish me good luck 🙂

*This blog entry was originally written in early Fall 2012