The sun has risen and the reality of my situation is finally starting to settle with me. The morning before a trip always has a certain ethereal sensation about it. The dawn is more hushed, as if the world waits with bated breath to see you off. Lowering the window of our car on the way to LAX, I can almost taste the anticipation in the air.
I go to a college that is a thirty-minute drive from my house, and I have never been out of the state on my own for longer than a couple weeks. Yet here I am, traveling to a country that is 2,200 miles away. Should I have used the metric system? I do not think I am emotionally prepared for this. Deciding which clothes to bring was just as hard as I imagine it must be for the Bachelorette to make her final decision. Actually - scratch that - I am sure I have it worse because I have had a much longer relationship with my clothes. After packing as lightly as I possibly could, I ended up with a suitcase, a duffel, and a backpack...leaving four embarrassingly large boxes of clothes behind.
I am excited to spend the next four months living among so much history. Although my main goal of the program is to become fluent in the Spanish language, I also want to immerse myself into the culture, taking risks and making the most of my time there. I want to hit the ground running. Luckily, I will not be embarking on this journey alone. I will be accompanied by one of my best friends, Jessica. Jess and I roomed together this past year at school, and we will be staying with the same host family while abroad. Although I am worried that we might use one another as a crutch to prevent total immersion, I think that we will ultimately help each other gain the confidence necessary to thrive in this foreign environment. Jess and I also want tot take advantage of our time in Europe to travel to as many countries as possible.
Thank God I have Jess by my side. Yet I don’t envy her considering my personal susceptibility to motion sickness – of which she is well aware thanks to a trip to California’s Great America theme park just weeks ago. But in my defense, the lack of lines at the park did not mesh well with my weak stomach. Let’s just pray that our flight will be free of turbulence and full of Alca-Seltzer.
Micaela Ferguson
<p>My name is Micky Ferguson and I am a rising junior at Claremont McKenna College studying Government and Philosophy. I am from Pasadena, California, which, in 2014, was named the Snobbiest City in America. But I will be the first to say that the people who conducted the survey were probably just jealous because they know that we are better than them. I have a passion for photography, video production, and puns. I love taking portrait photography, but I like taking candid photos more - I think that photos tell more of a story when they aren't posed.</p>
