State College

I will now reside in State College for the next four months. Staying in one place is a hard concept for me to accept, I am used to being on the go all the time. I am alone for the first time since August. On the ship there were always people around and in the countries it was frowned upon to wonder off by one’s self. I just moved into my apartment, my parents just left, and my new roommates have not yet arrived. This leaves me all by my lonesome which is nice because it gives me time to reflect and to ponder ideas about my future. I have an uneasy feeling in my stomach about starting school again at such a large campus. I will survive; I just find it strange that I felt so at home in each country and now that I am in my real “home”, everything feels foreign. Although everything is changing around me I am in a much better place than I was three weeks ago. I no longer want to stay in bed all day and sob over missing the ship. Now I must focus on the future and figure out what I want to do with my life once I graduate next year.

Observations: it’s really cold here. I really miss the warm air rushing against my skin on the 7^th deck, forward. I can only rely on a few people here, on the ship I had about 700 people I could depend on for support. Americans are not as prone to helping foreigners as citizens of other countries are. In Vietnam the people were so pleasant and wanted to help in any way possible. In India I had a woman come up to me and offer to join her for tea at her house. It would be rare to find that kind of hospitality in the States.