So a million questions have popped into my head this week as I've started to think about packing.
And while you all are well into your third week of classes, this morning I'm trying to figure out how to stuff my life into a couple of suitcases and a backpack for three months.
Here are some of the, um, quandaries I've been facing.
Issue No. 1: I'm not an overly girly girl, but I do like to accessorize when I can, and I'm a big fan of the layering look. So how do I decide how many nights I might be going out a week so I can pack at least twice that many outfits? This is important so first of all, I don't get bored with my clothes myself, and secondly, no one else really notices that I'm living off of an eighth of a wardrobe.
Issue No. 2: Am I going to have time to work out? How many pairs of gym shorts should I pack? I don't really exercise on a regular basis in the U.S., but what if, for some freakish reason, I try to join the rugby team? Or what if I want to try surfing and get hooked and find out I need every swimsuit I've ever owned? Mind you, it's a very small, almost non-existent chance, but what if?
Issue No. 3: I'm arriving in Swansea on a Saturday afternoon and don't have any kind of scheduled orientation, that I know of, until Monday. I won't have a car and I have no idea how to buy a bus pass or how that system works anyway. Will I be in walking distance of getting food/other living essentials, or is it as simple as calling a cab to take me to the grocery store? And then, how do I know where to go?
Issue No. 4: I'm supposed to have six roommates in my apartment/flat, but the international students are arriving before the rest of campus. So will I get first dibs on choosing a room and if I do, how do I avoid being the rude American girl who took the best choice without consulting anyone else?
Issue No. 5: A student who went to Wales last year told me two of her roommates had such thick accents she couldn't understand them at first. It took her a week until she got used to it. What if all my roommates speak Welsh all the time and I can't understand them all semester? You know, even though only 30 percent of the population actually speaks it and everyone speaks English as well.
Issue No. 6: And, finally, what if the sky falls down, the ocean dries up and so does all the oil? Then there won't be any way to get home except by walking 3,709 miles when the end of term rolls around in a few months. I guess that'll be the least of my concerns.
This is just a smattering of what I've been thinking about, and yes, it's all a bit ridiculous. But I guess you never really appreciate the ease of familiarity until you're just ready to leave it for something completely foreign.
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Jessica Cuffman
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