The Orientation Is Finally Over

The last two weeks have been an intense experience.A lot had to be done in a very short amount time. I have really enjoy this ordeal. My classes are interesting and the people are fun to be around. I have fallen into a routine. I know where all of my classes are, when I have to be there, and what I am expected to be doing. I am a little scared that after this orientation is over,upon my arrival in Strasbourg, everything will be different and I will have to start over from the beginning.

These two and a half weeks have been my barrier. Since the beginning, I have told myself that I had this time to process my thoughts and prepare myself for departure. Now that this orientation is over everything is starting to dawn on me. I am no more mentally prepared than I was before, aside from the fact that I did indeed survive these weeks without my dog. Hopefully this is a sign that four months will not be as hard as I think it will be. On that note arrives my biggest fear....I have been on the Colby-Sawyer College campus for thirteen days and it feels like much longer then that. In a way, it is hard to remember back when I could sleep in my own bed. That is what scares me the most; if two weeks feels like forever, how long will four months feel?

Whenever I think about things that stress me out or scare me, I just remember all of the amazing, unbelievable experiences that I am going to have. The thought of touring the Louvre and climbing the Eiffel Tower keep me sane. I know that I have to work through the hard times, but it will be well worth it. This is a once in a lifetime experience and I want to get the most out of it.

Instrumental People

Though she was not a physical presence through Greg Mortensen’s journeys in Pakistan I believe his sister was the one person who was completely instrumental in his success. Without his desire to honor Christa’s life, he might have never stumbled in Korphe and found his life’s calling. Greg traveled to Pakistan as a way of celebrating his sister and paying reverence to her on the summit of K2. At the beginning of this trip he saw it as a failure, he didn’t make it to the summit and he had no idea where he was. He thought he failed his sister’s memory, little did he know that he would find a much better and fulfilling way of honoring his sister. He decided to dedicate his life to helping girls in the Middle East receive proper education. With his sister always in his mind, “ I felt like my heart was being torn out. There was a fierceness in their desire to learn, despite how mightily everything stacked against them, that reminded me of Christa” (Mortensen 32), he did everything in his power to help improve their lives.
I could have never prepared myself for the Global Beginnings program without the help of my mother. She has always been the most crucial person in my life. Mentally preparing myself for this semester abroad has been difficult to say the least. To be completely honest, I spent very little time thinking over the decision to spend this time in France. I heard about the opportunity and just jumped at the chance. It wasn’t until last week when I arrived on campus and spent my first extended period of time away from home did I realize how difficult this was going to be. Within the first forty-eight hours I missed my dog, the thought of being away from him for four months made me want to cry. If it wasn’t for my mother constantly reminding me of all amazing places that I will have the chance to go and all of the things I will have the chance to see I would be going out of my mind. My mother keeps me sane, without her who knows what my current mental state would be.


Mortensen, Greg and David Oliver Relin. Three Cups of Tea. London, England: Penguin Books, 2007.

My First Experience With Roomates and Communal Bathrooms

This first week of college has been interesting to say the least. I have never had to share a bedroom before. At home my bedroom is my sanctuary, the place where I can be by myself and have everything exactly the way that I choose to. It is hard to get used of having to share that space with someone who you barely know. On the other hand sharing a bedroom is no where near as difficult as sharing the bathroom. I am a very cleanly person, I organize and sanitize everything before I use it. The same cannot be said for the other people who use that bathroom, it is slightly frightening. Piles of dirty towels, hair in the sink, and water on the floor is almost enough for me to give up going to the bathroom altogether. But putting those two things aside my first week of college has been really great. I can see that Colby-Sawyer is a place where I can be very happy. I just have to get used of the living situation and then everything will be great.