Hello! My name is Haliny, I am a senior at Rollins and I study Philosophy and Latin American and Caribbean Studies. I am currently waiting at the airport of my home country (Brazil) to board to Bali, Indonesia for my semester abroad!
I am very excited for this experience, Indonesia has been on the top of my travel destinations for years now, and the fact that I get to study abroad there, learn a whole new culture, live with a local family (!), and study a new language gives me energy for this 2-day travel I am currently in.
If I had to do a quick run-down of my fears before this experience, they would be mainly these:
Of the family not liking me, having initial language barriers with the locals, flight delays… really, just these! I think I’m too excited to get there. I’ve been traveling around the world since I was a little child, so I am not too scared of embarking into a new culture. I welcome it. However, I have travelled mainly to Europe, South and North America. Asia is a completely unknown world to me. I usually miss my country a lot when I am abroad in the United States, but right now I am too anxious for any of that. It is unreal to think that I will have lived in 3 different countries this year: the United States at Rollins, Brazil over the summer, and Indonesia for my fall semester. I feel very blessed to experience different cultures, it makes me be more open-minded about different cultures and the people of these cultures. I hope to leave Bali feeling like Indonesia has become a home away from home so much that I feel that the Indonesian people are part of my family and friend circle.
Will write more once my abroad experience starts officially, hopefully with lots of pics and stories to tell!! I arrive only Friday afternoon, it is only Wednesday evening… I’ll be doing some reading on Bali before I arrive! I couldn’t think of a better way to kick of my senior year.
Warm Brazilian Regards,
Haliny