I'm sitting here in a hotel room in Norway 350 km north of the Arctic Circle, feasting on a candy breakfast before packing up for my endless flight home (seriously, it's going to take 20 hours) and looking back on the past six months. I can still remember very clearly those days in early December when I was just starting to get packed up and getting so itchy to start my blog that every day I had to ask myself it was too soon to begin.
Since then, there have been many highs, few lows, and very few regrets. I've found the abroad experience more complicated than I expected--it wasn't just "ZOMG this is amazing!!" all the time, like I perhaps naively thought it might be--but incredibly gratifying. I leave Europe feeling like a better scholar and a better individual. I've had to be independent (more so than I already was - and I thought I had been doing pretty well!), stretch myself socially, and most of all WORK HARD. I've seen some amazing things and gotten some pretty outrageous opportunities. I've missed a lot of things about home, the horses especially, but I still think it was one of the best decisions I've made in college so far.
I'm so thankful for my parents first and foremost for giving me this opportunity. They've never once paused in supporting my dreams, and this was just another mind-boggling display of their generosity. I'm also extremely thankful to the Stanford overseas program, my professors and programme-mates, Emily at Eventing Magazine, and John at Eventingnation.com. I don't know when I'll ever have an opportunity like this again, so I owe these individuals a lot for making it so special the first time around.
I have a good few posts left to do as recap, but I thought I should mark the end a bit more formally. Everything from here on out will be recollections and nostalgia. I've never been opposed to such activities, so bring it on =)
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