Getting Started

In 5 days I leave for a Study Abroad trip to Europe so I decided it would be a good time to start a blog to share my experiences with whoever wants to read them.

I have wanted to participate in a study abroad program since I was in high school.  After looking at many different programs during my freshman year I found one that was during the summer and included an IAH class that was required for my major.  The trip is titled "Music, Art and Language in Bregenz" and is based out of Bregenz, Austria with planned weekend trips to Vienna and Munich.  In October I visited the table for the trip I was looking at and after talking to one of the professors for 5 minutes was satisfied that it was in fact the trip I wanted to go on.  I applied a few days after and was accepted into the program within a few weeks after that.  Then the waiting game started until I knew more about the trip to start planning.

At the beginning of the new semester we started receiving emails from the professors on the trip and had a facebook group set up.  I knew no one that was on the trip but wanted to find someone to travel to Paris with me either before or after the trip.  Through the facebook group I found someone else who wanted to travel while we were in Europe.  We decided that traveling after the trip would be easier because we would be familiar with trains and such after the trip; we also decided to go to Paris, Belgium, and London.  With places to go and plane tickets booked we were on our way to get the journey started.

Figuring out trains to where we wanted to go proved more challenging than you would think.  It turns out Bregenz is a relatively small city so there are not a lot of trains going to and from there in the direction we needed to go.  I didn't feel like switching trains 4+ times and traveling for 13 hours was worth it to go to different places so combing through the time tables was necessary to find a train with the most direct route.  The main reason I wanted to go to Belgium was because my dad lived there for 18 months before my parents go married.  My parents told me of their favorite small town in Belgium so I also had to look into local trains, and figure out how to look into local trains, to plan that leg of the journey.  In the end only a few mild panic attacks ensued from figuring out trains and most were more related to the fact that I have never been on a train before and have no clue what to expect but since they are the only way to efficiently get all over Europe I'm sure I"ll learn quickly.  

After figuring out when we would be where based on the train schedule the rest was relatively easy (or at least significantly easier).  We will sight see and do touristy stuff and other than that don't have much of a plan.  We have places to stay so that's all that's really needed.  We also have a free weekend during our trip where are group of us are going to Salzburg and Venice, luckily someone else took the lead on that so I was spared additional panic attacks.  

If all goes as planned (and I have no reason to foresee that it won't) then we will be going to 7 countries in 40 days.  That probably means I won't end up sleeping all that much but that's ok; this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that so many people are not able to experience.  I'm going to make the most of it.