Falling in Love Abroad
For the first time in 24 years, I had the chance to live and study abroad.
Well a couple of days after I presented my thesis and that was really it for my college years, my mom came up with a new challenge. DISCLAIMER: People that know me well know that I just can't say NO to a challenge. But this time it was not the case because I said NO, by that time I was tired and mentally drained. It was understandable I just wrote a 300+ pages thesis on my own in three months. I was not in the mood to write essays by that time. Those who know my mom can tell you well that she just doesn't give up that easily. After given birth to five kids and raising them all on her own; having an industrial engineer, a soon to be a doctor, a mechanical engineer major, a navy engineer major, and a high school 11th grader she is still looking for that X-Factor to make us great. So after a week of nagging, I accepted to make her happy and I filled in the application that will change my life. A day after I sent my application I received a rejection email. That was it I said to myself. No wonders that next week I received an email telling me that there was a mistake and was actually going to Washington DC. I was accepted. OMG, I won a scholarship to live and study abroad for three months.
But how did this really happened?
Well a couple of days after I presented my thesis and that was really it for my college years, my mom came up with a new challenge. DISCLAIMER: People that know me well know that I just can't say NO to a challenge. But this time it was not the case because I said NO, by that time I was tired and mentally drained. It was understandable I just wrote a 300+ pages thesis on my own in three months. I was not in the mood to write essays by that time. Those who know my mom can tell you well that she just doesn't give up that easily. After given birth to five kids and raising them all on her own; having an industrial engineer, a soon to be a doctor, a mechanical engineer major, a navy engineer major, and a high school 11th grader she is still looking for that X-Factor to make us great. So after a week of nagging, I accepted to make her happy and I filled in the application that will change my life. A day after I sent my application I received a rejection email. That was it I said to myself. No wonders that next week I received an email telling me that there was a mistake and was actually going to Washington DC. I was accepted. OMG, I won a scholarship to live and study abroad for three months.That's how it all started, but the real question is how did I really fell in love abroad...
Although many people don't think so, the United States is an amazing place. Falling in love takes a while but for me, it was at first sight.
Here is why I just fell deeply in love:
- People are extremely nice and polite. There wasn't a day that passed that people didn't smile or said good morning, good afternoon, or good evening. You can really make friends in the streets just like that.
- Not all Americans are Trump supporters. By this, I mean that people often confused me for being African American, and when I actually told them that I was Panamanian they were shocked at how good my English was. No one was ever racist or mean when they knew this.
- Washington DC has a lot of museums. You can't imagine how small DC is to have that many museums. The best of all this is that most of them are FREE, yes what you read is true.
- NFL Football is a religion. You need to blend in sometimes. Who would ever think I will end up being a Redskins fan.
- New York never does sleep and it is a real fact. I had the chance to be in NYC twice in my time there and walking at 11pm in Times Square is a nightmare, but is a challenge I enjoyed a lot.
- Connecticut the state where nothing really happens. That's what most people said. It was so quiet, peaceful, and had the most wonderful Halloween decorations I've ever seen.
- Maryland your Queen's Land, I'm joking btw. Maryland is adorable, let me bold that up ADORABLE, I just love Maryland. I can imagine what will it feel to live in the suburbs, it's just like that movies. Diners, small plazas, football fans everywhere, cold, and amazing architecture.
- Virginia just across the Potomac River had all the skyscrapers and industries DC didn't have. It was really interesting to cross the river in the metro and feel in a different place.
How not to fall in love with all these?
All the people I met while being in this program, it was a cultural experience. You'll never know if you never try. And I tried it.
From dancing all night long with Puerto Ricans to cooking with my roommates from Texas and Arkansas to going to salsa classes with people from different states and even people from Japan. This is what falling in love really means to me. You might think wow this is fantastic, but I won't lie there were some rough times to all this. Seeing and feeling the heartbreaks when it was my time to leave. You only get this type of feeling when you fall in love truly and deeply.
I know there will be a time that I will have this experience again. I just hope that in a near future the universe takes me back.
Have you ever lived abroad? How was your experience, I'll be thrilled to hear about it?
Adventures are great, especially when the person you love is your destination.
—Unknown
Yours truly,
Maria
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