- My Hopes for Vienna -

        During the semester in Vienna, I am hoping to become close with the other FP students going abroad. I only know a few of the students, and I do not know any of them especially well. Even though I am sad to be leaving my friends at school, I hope to become close with the other kids going to Vienna through this trip. I also want to travel throughout Europe quite a bit, since I have family all over Europe. Therefore I am hoping that the other FP students will be open to traveling all over Europe with me.

     My hopes for Professor Tullio and her family are that they are able to enjoy their trip as much as all of the students. I know that it must be a lot of work for Professor Tullio to plan out a semester in another country, so I hope that she knows how much we appreciate her efforts. I also hope that her family has fun and is able to interact with us. I love kids and hope to be able to hang out with them too!

     As far as my hopes for me go, I am primarily interested in being immersed in a new culture and being able to see what it is like to live in a foreign country. I have lived in many locations throughout the United States, but I have never lived outside of the country, yet I have always wanted to. In addition, as an Anthropology major I am very interested in cultural studies so I am hoping to learn about the culture in Vienna from a participant observation position. Since I have moved around so much I have learned to love it, so living in Vienna for 3 months is yet another opportunity for me to meet new people and branch out a little bit more. I believe that I am a very unique person due to the fact that I have lived in so many different places and I hope that this experience will add to this.

      I am nervous about a few things. First of all, I am not especially independent when it comes to travel, so I hope that I will become comfortable going all around Europe by myself and not being dependent on those around me. I am also a bit nervous about being home sick. I went to Hungary for 3 weeks when I was 14 and I got very homesick, so I hope that won't be a problem this time around. One other thing I am nervous about is not making the most of the trip. Since I was originally supposed to go to Athens, Vienna was not my first choice. I reluctantly decided to go to Vienna in the end, but I am now very excited about it. I hope that I will really enjoy the trip and be able to make the most of being in Vienna because I know this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I have wanted to study abroad since I was a kid, and I am nervous that I will not make the very best of it.

me, franca (my little sister), carrie (my mom), and megan (my big sister) on vacation in mexico!