The End: Goodbye for now, Iceland!

I have been back in Boston for a week now and I am still in awe of Iceland and the five weeks I spent in its grasp. My time abroad was one of the most rewarding experiences thus far in my life and I feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to go on this dialogue. I can tell that I came back to the US as a changed person. I definitely value the beauty of untouched land, and some of my friends from the dialogue have already started planning trips to get out of the city. I walk slower and look at my surroundings with much more intent. I take advantage of the daylight now that the days don’t seem as endless as they did in Iceland. My view of the world now is that I need to see more of it: especially the areas that are hardly touched by tourism or society. I would definitely study abroad again, and I would love to go to Ireland or Greenland next.

I am happy to get back to my roots and continue my studies and goals as a behavioral neuroscience major. But having the chance to be creative and take a class about experimental film was amazing. I am definitely still a creative thinker and if I learned anything from my class, it was that I need to continue to find creative outlets for myself. Pushing myself in that way was a refreshing break and I am already planning on finding more opportunities to use my camera.

I am surprised that I am having such a hard time coming back to the big city. My hometown is quite rural, and I have never felt uncomfortable by the crowds in Boston. I didn’t believe that it would be hard for me to readjust, but I am. I really miss the isolation and having the ability to be completely alone. I realized that having time to myself is something I really need and value.

Looking back, I was incredibly nervous to go on this dialogue. I had never been that far away from home for such a long period of time. I had never taken an art class at Northeastern. I had never been to Europe. I navigated the journey by just jumping in head first. I felt that it was easiest just to roll with the punches and experience everything. It turns out that even after doing a project or two, most of my peers hadn’t realized that I wasn’t a graphic arts major/minor. I ended up fitting in well with my group by just being myself. The traveling part came naturally to me, as someone who is incredibly practical and conscious. I don’t know why I was even nervous in the first place.

The single greatest benefit of studying abroad would have to be pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. Whenever you travel to a new place, you will be participating in something that you aren’t completely familiar with. I feel braver and I feel more cultured. The greatest experience of this trip, for me, was bonding with my dialogue group. We had traveled the whole country together, worked tirelessly on projects together, and went through the whole ordeal of culture shock together. We came out of this experience with life long friends, and I am very grateful for that.

If I had to give any advice to future participants, it would be to stay present when you go abroad. It is easy to get sucked into taking instagram pictures of every new place you see or to want to text all of your friends in the moment to tell them how great you are feeling. But when you are constantly using technology in a new place, you are missing the real treasure and can’t fully experience it. Take advantage of the time you have and of course, have the time of your life.

I’ll be back for you, Iceland!