By: Alice (Ruo Ran) Wang, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship.
As I get ready to leave for my study-abroad program, I find myself overcome with an intense pre-departure jitter. There seems to be an endless string of loose-ends: getting foreign currency (Did I get enough? How devastated would I be if I got robbed? If not too devastated, maybe I should get more?); booking hostels (Is this good/safe/clean/reliable? Is there a breakfast buffet? Can I smuggle food from the buffet to eat later?); trying to forecast the weather (Does 19 ̊C in Paris feels like 19 ̊C here?). The constant plague of uncertainties is exasperating the already difficult task of planning a realistic sojourn.
I have other worries too. I am vigilant ab...