Introduction

Waiting in O'Hare

I took two improv classes through ComedySportz a few years ago and one of the games we played involved putting an alliteration adjective before our name. My word was “adventurous”. Ever since that day, when passing that game down to students, I’ve stuck to that adjective. So though using alliteration may be cheesy or “adventurous” may be an overused adjective. While the word may be losing it’s meaning in this whole“Instagram-worthy” generation, as cheesy as it sounds, that’s what I strive to have, adventures. Traveling anywhere out of one’s home is often filled with the unexpected in every aspect of the experience. One must develop a go-with-the-flow mentality in order to survive these interruptions and embrace the spontaneity of travel, and that is what makes it adventurous.

So I don’t know how consistent I’ll be with blogging. What I do know is I love taking pictures, and I like making what can sometimes become long-winded, descriptive posts about experiences I have in life that are special. And well, what I’m about to embark on seems like an experience worth writing about so I’m trying my best to not only document for myself, but update others. I figured I post enough updates on Facebook or Instagram, I might as well have a formal place to organize my thoughts. I’ve always been intentional about collecting things while traveling such as seashells, brochures, ticket stubs, unique gift shop bags, or postcards with inspiring views. But when it comes to combining all these into a scrapbook, the items tend to sit untouched in a rubbermaid container in my basement, like my “scrapbook materials” from my trip to Denmark in 2008 and 2012. This blog will be an attempted way of sort of “collecting things”, so to speak, along my journey through thoughts, anecdotes, and photos throughout my adventures..

This new adventure is studying Drama, Applied Theatre & Performance at the University of East London for the fall term. Before that, I will be taking a pitstop in Copenhagen to visit my lovely Danish host family for a week. During, I will be taking courses Urban Interventions, Politics of Performance and Memory, Actor Training, and Applied Performance. After, I will be traveling to Lisbon, Portugal to spend time with a dear friend for the holidays. Hopefully, there will be other European pit stops along the way.

Though I won’t know anyone directly in East London when I arrive, another dear friend will be studying abroad in Canterbury this semester, about two hours away from me. While I’ll have to adjust to jet lag and distance between myself and some loved ones, I look forward to closing the geographical gap and time zone differences with others- a rarity for these friends.  

One of my favorite quotes another dear friend shared with me is “You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.” That is how life has always been for me, having relationships across state borders and oceans. Though what might seem like a setback, has given me an appreciation for each little moment I have with the people I care about and opportunities to travel the world. I look forward to cherishing upcoming moments with those loved ones on another continent with different time zones and different languages, and creating new relationships and a piece of home in the city of East London.