12 days to go!

Hello out there,

Currently I am still in the United States, i leave for Shanghai on the 12th out of Chicago. My dad was nice enough to escort me to Chicago on the 11th (he claims its so he can "help out if there are any issues" but we all know he doesn't want to send me off so soon!). My thoughts on spending a semester in a new country are countless, i go through waves of being excited to see what life across the world is like and then come the stresses of everything that has to happen before that time can come! Right now I'm sitting in the middle of my room where half of the mess is my stuff from school that needs to be unpacked, while the other half is what is going to accompany me to Shanghai.

We have a wonderful foreign exchange student staying with us for this school year from Norway who has helped me with the reality of studying abroad (shout out to Anne Marte!). As many of you know i live in a fantasy world a lot of the time (I blame that on movies and TV shows of today, everything should have a happy ending duh!) and i think this semester will be a lot of a fantasy but I need to be realistic that it will be different. For the past 2 and a half years i've lived in the wonderful bubble of Oxford, Ohio. Don't get me wrong i love Miami and wouldn't trade me experiences there for anything, but i think I need/am ready to try and tackle something new. I've mastered the art of life as a college student; late night pizza on speed dial, tweeting, finding costumes for various functions, luging (Sandbar do me proud!) and some learning (kidding mom and dad!), but i can't wait to see what else there is out there. There are so many opportunities to see the world in a different way, from appreciating little things, like the food to big things, like living in a democratic country. I hope to keep you all updated on my experience, thoughts and feelings in China through this blog. I not the best with words but i want to be able to share this experience with you all as best I can!

While I'm slaving away on this blog I hope you all keep me updated with what is going on in you're lives and in the United States!

xoxo

Aryn