IU East Blogs

30Aug/11

The Canterbury Tales…sort of

I can honestly say that a year ago, I would have never predicted I’d be doing this, writing a blog for IU East about my upcoming year abroad. Last year, like all of you, I was starting a brand new year on campus, attending all of the welcome back events and hanging out with my friends, discussing the woes of Organic Chemistry and pessimistically predicting our future grades-“Like, SERIOUSLY?! How in the world am I supposed to understand what resonance is?!” Now , as I am preparing to leave my small town and venture to England for a year, my dramatics of last year seem so trivial- and I completely understand resonance now all thanks to my awesome professor and SI instructor!  Seeing all of the Facebook posts about starting school yesterday really makes my upcoming year abroad seem more real since I’ve been sitting on the couch watching, what else?-awful reality television. Ha! I don’t start school for another month, but believe me; I have plenty to do in the meantime.

Sometimes I do things, and looking back I wonder, “What in the world made me decide to do that?” This entire study abroad decision sparks that exact same question-let me give you background as to how I’ve gotten to this point. So like most young girls, I was OBSESSED with the Spice Girls. I am still completely OBSESSED with Harry Potter and I love David Beckham (who doesn’t?) Now, these things don’t directly have anything to do with my story, but they did help and I thought it could give you an opportunity to get to know some of my interests! Due to my love of all things English, I had always wanted to go to England and I dreamed of one day living there, cue study abroad. On the Saturday before returning from Christmas break I was looking at IU East’s study abroad link on our website at like 2 am. From there, I went searching for trips and found a direct link to IU’s study abroad page. There I found OVER ONE HUNDRED (no, really) opportunities to study abroad. I was looking at Australia and Germany, but wanted something more familiar to me, and since Harry Potter is like my BFF (I’m really not THAT weird, promise!) I looked at choices in England. There were summer internships and semester long choices, but the yearlong Canterbury option stood out to me. I’m not sure why, again, “what in the world made me do that?” but I clicked on it and started to apply. The next day I continued my application until I hit a road block. The application was due that Tuesday (the day we got back from break); I needed two professor recommendations, an essay describing why to choose me and a bunch of other things to fill out. So I forgot about it moved on with my day AND the next day, which I don’t think I thought about it once. That Tuesday morning, my class let out WAY early since it was just the first day and I started telling my friend who was also in the class about my interest in study abroad and how there was no way I could finish the application because it was due that day and I didn’t have anything done, etc, etc…  Now standing upstairs in Whitewater right outside of the professor offices she told me verbatim, “You’ll regret it if you don’t even try.” She went with me to ask for two recommendations, which the professors wrote on the spot, she came with me to computer lab to sit with me as I busted out an essay and filled out everything. I turned in the application that night and TRULY expected nothing to come out of it, maybe just a phone call or email declining my application. Instead, I got an email telling me about the interview I needed to have at Bloomington with the selection committee before they decided on the students who would be chosen for this program. Well, I live in Ohio 20 minutes from Richmond, and they offered to have an over-the-phone interview with me instead so I wouldn’t have to drive so far. I was SO nervous the morning they called, because I didn’t even think I’d get an interview! And now I had to do one over the phone?! But I survived and the interviewer was so nice and easy to talk to. Flash forward two weeks and I was sitting in a meeting at school and I got an email telling me, “Congratulations! You’ve been chosen for the Junior Year Abroad program at the University of Kent in Canterbury.” After I picked my jaw and phone up off the floor, I frantically tried calling my parents, who didn’t answer, but I needed to tell someone, ANYONE?! I ended up running down to Admissions and telling Angie and whoever else would listen. I hadn’t planned for this, I wasn’t expecting this, and I had no clue what to do next. I felt like a chicken with its head cut off. From then on, for the next three months or so, I had to mail things and fill out medical forms and I had to read books about the trials tribulations of study abroad and what to expect and so on. I then had to travel to Bloomington one Friday for an orientation where I got to meet the others in my program, a student who went to Kent the year before and a student from the UK who attends Kent and is studying abroad at IU.  Tidbit time: this program is through IU Bloomington.  Any opportunity Bloomington has, we have, or any regional campus for that matter. Nine students were chosen for my program and I am the only one from a regional campus. Now back to story time.  At that meeting, we got to ask questions about what it’s really like and how we should pack and dress and the differences in the UK versus the US and what school is like at Kent and any question that popped into our heads. I left that meeting SO excited and wanted to leave for Kent that day! I don’t think I ever imagined how quickly time would fly, because then, my countdown was at 110 days until I got to leave and now I’m down to 18 days! I leave September 16^th, I will be back for Christmas for 2-3 weeks and I leave again to stay at Kent until late June. This whole experience is just now becoming real to me, now that everyone is back at school and I’m not. My pre-departure jitters have been pretty high lately, but don’t get me wrong, I am SO excited to begin my journey overseas. IU has bloggers dedicated solely to the study abroad experience and I have religiously read every one written about the Canterbury program.  You can like the IU Overseas Study page on Facebook and read about a lot of programs that are just starting this year. I would definitely recommend checking out all of the blogs! They’re like a mini vacation sometimes; travelling through Spain and China for free!

This is The University of Kent's Campus at Canterbury!

So there you have it! My first blog, EVER! I’m the rookie blogger this year and I thought since the majority of posts will be about my new life in England, I should give everyone insight into how I got here. Through my experience and blogging I hope that you may live vicariously through me, or that I may spark an interest in you to study abroad!  No matter how petrified I am to have to live thousands of miles away from home and  family, I have to keep reminding myself that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity; I mean, really, when else in my life will I be able to pack up, live and study in Europe for a year? Never! I know one of the reasons that sealed the deal for me to be chosen was that I told my interviewer from Bloomington that I want to make it known that even though IU East is a small school in Richmond, Indiana, students have the same, big opportunities that IU does and that I would be happy to be a sort of ambassador for study abroad at IU East. I decided to blog for MY school instead of IU because I hope to show everyone that going to a small school requires zero sacrifices and that it is up to you to make your college experience what you want it to be. 'Til next time-

Kelsey

Last 5 Posts by Kelsey

• HARRY POTTER!!! Oh yea, my parents were there too. - May 20th, 2012
• REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD - May 18th, 2012
• Eating Our Way Through ROMA Pt. III - May 10th, 2012
• Eating Our Way Through ROMA Pt. II - May 4th, 2012
• Eating Our Way Through ROMA Pt. I - April 22nd, 2012

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About Kelsey

Hey guys! I’m Kelsey and am a Junior majoring in Biology. I am active in the Honors club on campus and spend part of my time working as a student ambassador and Pack Leader for IU East. I am a foodie, I love to shop and I watch entirely too much television. I am studying abroad this year in Canterbury, England at the University of Kent and am excited I get to take all of you on this journey with me! Cheers! ;)