Now that I am back in the States and have experienced family gatherings and American food, I am starting to spend more and more time reflecting on Rome and the encouragement and passion it gave me. While abroad, my main goal was to embrace growth and change within myself and around me. I was able…
Preparing for a Semester in Rome
From the start of the semester, I have held tight to the idea that I would be spending this upcoming semester in Rome. Spending the entirety of my life living in suburban Central Florida, with short-term visits to cities of cultures vastly different from my own, I envisioned what life would look like living in…
Leaving for London (6 days!)
Traveling to London is something that I have envisioned for years. I can’t believe that I am going to be there in less than a week (and staying for 4 months!). I am full of both excitement and anxiety as I am preparing to leaving the United States until April. I am anxious to leave…
China: Post #5
After my experience in China and I good re-reading of my first blog: I still believe that one identity is a representation of the society you were raised in and I am more amazed by this statement, since, while onboard I meet more people like me with a “mix and match” identity and even though, we…
Oh The Places I’ll Go
As I welcome in the new year, I also welcome the new and exciting prospects it holds. Some of these prospects will be challenging, like my internship and new classes, but equally as exciting. It seems like just yesterday when I decided to look into study abroad opportunities. I started the school year with the…
Final Reflection
Looking back at my original ruminations about my identity and the impact it has on my experiences, I find myself to be only partially correct. Over the last four months, I have discovered much about my own identity, as well as the role identity plays in the relations between people, ethnic/religious groups, and even nations. …
11 Days Until I Leave For Rome by Allison van Tilborgh
It is not the fear of a foreign land, language, or culture that frightens me. It is the feeling of doing something on my own.
Leaving to London
Traveling to London has always been a dream of mine, that I never thought would come true. I know that this opportunity is once in a lifetime and I will have to face challenges that take me out of my comfort zone. Coming from someone who has lived in a sort of bubble, surrounded by…
a final see you later.
I really did not want to leave Australia at all. If I spend the holidays over here alone I would have been content. I miss it so much already, and I miss being on my own in practically a whole new world. Studying abroad has been literally the best thing I have ever done in…
coming to an end, but more like a new beginning
It is a strange feeling being done with school in early November, something I have never experienced. I have a full two months off before classes start back up at Rollins. I am going to miss everything here, my life, my friends, and just being gone from home. I haven’t really left the US ever…