Written on December 27, 1997

I was standing at the entrance of the hallway that lead to the airplane. I was the very last one to board and the stewardesses were beginning to wonder what the most tactful way to get me on the plane would be. I was sobbing, along with the rest of my family. The realization that I was leaving America for an entire year had truly, finally hit home. I was walking onto that plane alone and landing across the world in a place I had only seen in pictures and movies. Ultimately, I wouldn't have had it any other way. Going abroad to study in England was something I had wanted to do independently, drawing upon myself for the courage to leave behind familiarity and therein, safety. When my friend Devon asked me if he could come with me I felt strangely against the idea. He is considered a good friend, but it wasn't what I wanted. This was my adventure and I wanted to experience, learn and grow on my own.

I came to England to learn theater from the country that gave us Shakespeare. I found so much more. I'm in the international court. I'm surrounded by Spaniards, Greeks, French, Italians, Africans, Germans...I've even met people from Israel, Croatia, and Corsica. Meeting these people has broadened my world view and brought it all closer. Serbia, Africa and Corsica are no longer mentions in a history book, or news bites to me, but countries with distinct cultures and people. Furthermore, populated by people with the same passions and desires that I see at home. I've discovered foreign and familiar can be used in the same breath.

I'm working hard over here to take advantage of the classes offered, the small classes, and the emphasis on research and discussion. I also want to prove to my teachers that the stereotype of Americans as ill-educated sods is false. Unfortunately, I've found a consensus among Europeans that Americans are self-involved, arrogant, and ignorant. I'm proud to say that I have changed some minds.

I had my first Christmas away from home in Bordeaux, France, with my boyfriend. Experiencing an onslaught of new food, new traditions, and a new language was a complete sensory overload. I don't speak a word of French, (although, I did leave with merci, bonjour, and salut etched into my memory) and the frustration I experienced at my inability to communicate was devastating. My lack of French skills took my independence almost entirely away. My respect for international students struggling to learn in lectures conducted in a foreign language, to engage in social conversations, where something as simple as a joke is actually very difficult, is immense. Speaking with foreign friends and building relationships with them, I learned to be more patient, to explain things in different ways, and to be more aware of people's desperate desire to be included and to understand. The feeling of exclusion that comes with displacement is very real. Living with a French family for ten days helped me to learn how difficult it is not to be able to understand and communicate. I've vowed to start learning French from a text book because by the time summer comes I would like to be able to work there for a few months. I've seen how difficult it is to not know what the joke is in a conversation, but I also believe it is important to learn to communicate in different languages. I believe working in France this summer will help me to learn the language and a culture.

Besides the education from experiencing so many new sights, people, and cultures, I've been heavily involved in the theatre department at the University of Kent. I've just finished performing in the play, Equus, by Peter Shaffer and have already started rehearsing for a play called Mud. I also joined the fencing club, something I've wanted to learn for a long time, and have found it an intelligent, strategic sport. My housemates have begun to tease me whenever I'm in my flat that it is ''strange'' to see me there, they are so used to my constant rehearsals and practices. I'm living life to the fullest here and trying to absorb every bit of Europe that I can, from the foggy nights, to the accents, to the Underground. I will return to the United States a different person.

Amar and I in downtown Canberbury	Jerome and I at the cathedral	My sister, Reina, and I in Paris	Jerome and I on Champs Elysee