Andrea more excited than she can say

I can’t wrap my head around my acceptance. Like David after the Dentist on YouTube, I ask my friends “Is this real life?” anytime something is surprising or out of the ordinary, and over the past two weeks, I’ve been asking myself the same question every time I realize that I’m going to South Africa next semester. It doesn’t feel real yet. I can’t believe that I’ve been accepted, but at the same time, I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about something in my life.

Trying to figure out where to study abroad was incredibly difficult. The study abroad fair was incredibly overwhelming for me because I liked the sound of everything. It did nothing to help me narrow down my choices – it added at least ten more programs to my list of “serious candidates” for places to apply.  I think I wrote my name down on almost every email list because I’m still getting the emails for programs all over the world. But whenever ‘UConn in Florence’ or Guatemala or wherever pops up in my inbox, it hits me again that I’m going to South Africa – and I don’t feel like I’m missing out on any of them, I know for certain I made the right choice. Although I was excited about all the programs, the more I learned about UConn in Cape Town, the more excited I got. My list of candidates shrank to 1 after the symposium and I started planning my life around it. My obsession grew borderline unhealthy, and I remember telling my mom I’d stay at UConn a fifth year and apply again if I got rejected this year and next year. Thankfully I’m not in that boat, but I really did feel that way at the time. I’ve never been one to throw all my eggs in one basket, but I really did pin all my hopes on this program. I’m waaay more excited than I can articulate and at this point, I just can’t wait to go.