Okay. So, I am a recently turned 21 year old. Have I ever been to Europe? No. Did I choose to travel this beautiful continent without my family here and a no limit credit card. Yes. Why? Cause that's the best way to learn the most about yourself, in my opinion.
There are some things, some serious and some not so serious, that I'd like to share with potential abbey-ians as you prepare for this amazing adventure.
1. RyanAir (as of today) only lets CHECKED baggage weigh 15 KGs. Not, 50 KGs, as this young traveler thought beforehand. You will have to throw away several pairs of jeans, a blow-dryer, several books, a grocery bag full of hair products and makeup, and GASP: new shoes from Paris. You can probably tell that I experienced this dreadful experience, which I call my "Luggage Massacre".
2. Please, PLEASE, compost your train ticket. Getting hollered at by a old Italian man and paying a 5 euro fee is not worth it when you're on your way to a beautiful beach. Not the best way to start a great weekend. Just compost your ticket! Look for the yellow thing!
3. Girls, your beloved straightener will probably not work. All throughout the first week here, one will hear a "SHWOOSH" sound followed by a few cuss words of the blown-up hair straightener's victim's choice. Smoke will spread all around the abbey dorms. Buy yourself a 30 dollar European hair dryer and straightener at home (look at CVS, Walgreens and ULTA) and keep your expensive tools at home. Or great a really really good adapter.
4. Before you leave, pack. Take out half. Take out another pair of shoes. And then another dress. All you need: 3-4 pairs of jeans. Warm North Face type of deal. Some shirts. Lots of underwear (not kidding, you'll want it when you're 21 days on the road). Pair of shorts or a skirt. A hat. A scarf or two. Don't get crazy with the raincoats, the 300 dollar cocktail dress, the 3 pairs of Ugg Boots. You don't need it.
5. Never, ever, ever accept a drink from a man at a bar. I don't care if he resembles Gerard Butler via P.S I Love You. Be safe, you aren't stupid.
6. Keep up with your school work. Teachers are really there to help. Don't be afraid to ask. They all want to get to know you, unlike most of our teachers back home.
7. "Make new friends, keep the old, one is silver but the others gold."
8. Email your parents pictures! Mine love getting pictures and funny stories from me every so often! It'll be a great bond to have with them as they see you're becoming more independent.
9. Take an afternoon and lay outside in the Abbey Gardens. Read a book. Take a nap. Take pictures. Eat a pastry. Enjoy the French air that you won't have again for a while.
10. Write a blog. During your spring break, take a spiral or a journal and write a few sentences every night about what you did. 21 days later, you won't remember those little details on how Alexis spilled her drink all over herself at a bar or that amazing french dinner you had alone one night.
11.Live in the moment as much as you can. Don't worry about what's going on back home. Don't make summer plans or stress about an ex-girlfriend or boyfriend. You won't be able to experience this adventure if you dwell on the past or the future.
12. Lastly, in the words of the great Tom Petty, use this quote as your manta for living at the Abbey:
*All I have to say is..I've learned one thing and that's to quit worrying about stupid things. You have four years to be irresponsible here. Relax....work is for people with jobs. You'll never remember class time, but you'll remember time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So stay out late, go out with your friends on Tuesday when you have a paper due on Wednesday, spend money you don't have, stay up til sunrise. The work never ends, but college does"
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