Some people say college is the best time of your life. Honestly, I hope this is not true because that means once I graduate I have a lot of living left to do that will never be as great as my four years at Brown.
People also say this about studying abroad. And I can say that these months have probably been the best of my life so far. I say so far because I always want to be able to look forward to the next chapter in my life.
But no matter how much fun you are having, it is very easy for the pressures of studying abroad to start creeping in. You are expected to be having the best time of your life. You are expected to have great tales to tell to your family. You are expected to take great pictures and show everyone. And you are expected to post the fabulous photos on social media and get lots of likes.
But sometimes, life abroad can be pretty mundane. And you might start to stress while sitting in your room that you are not doing enough, and you aren't having enough fun. And suddenly you are overwhelmed and trapped in your room stressed about you should be doing instead of actually going outside and doing anything.
This past weekend was a three day weekend, and I had no plans to travel, I was going to stay here in Granada. As I listened to my classmates and others talk about their upcoming plans to travel to big cities in other countries, I started to feel overwhelmed. Why don't I have plans? Is it lame that I'm staying here? What am I going to do for three days in Granada? There's nothing to do here. Why didn't I plan sooner? -- These were some of the different thoughts going through my head.
However, this weekend turned out to be one of the most fun I've had, despite the fact that I never left the city. I went out with friends every night from Wednesday to Saturday. We tried new bars and tapas, ate a lot, roamed the streets with the Granadinos, had more-or-less deep conversations, and enjoyed each others company. I finally had Spanish churros, and I also tried Syrian food, which is really yummy! I took no pictures (actually I found one on my phone, but I think posting it here would defeat the purpose of this post), and have nothing to show for the weekend, but I can tell you I had a great time.
People also say this about studying abroad. And I can say that these months have probably been the best of my life so far. I say so far because I always want to be able to look forward to the next chapter in my life.
But no matter how much fun you are having, it is very easy for the pressures of studying abroad to start creeping in. You are expected to be having the best time of your life. You are expected to have great tales to tell to your family. You are expected to take great pictures and show everyone. And you are expected to post the fabulous photos on social media and get lots of likes.
But sometimes, life abroad can be pretty mundane. And you might start to stress while sitting in your room that you are not doing enough, and you aren't having enough fun. And suddenly you are overwhelmed and trapped in your room stressed about you should be doing instead of actually going outside and doing anything.
This past weekend was a three day weekend, and I had no plans to travel, I was going to stay here in Granada. As I listened to my classmates and others talk about their upcoming plans to travel to big cities in other countries, I started to feel overwhelmed. Why don't I have plans? Is it lame that I'm staying here? What am I going to do for three days in Granada? There's nothing to do here. Why didn't I plan sooner? -- These were some of the different thoughts going through my head.
However, this weekend turned out to be one of the most fun I've had, despite the fact that I never left the city. I went out with friends every night from Wednesday to Saturday. We tried new bars and tapas, ate a lot, roamed the streets with the Granadinos, had more-or-less deep conversations, and enjoyed each others company. I finally had Spanish churros, and I also tried Syrian food, which is really yummy! I took no pictures (actually I found one on my phone, but I think posting it here would defeat the purpose of this post), and have nothing to show for the weekend, but I can tell you I had a great time.