4,545.951 Miles Away from Home

Hello everyone,

Today I thought I would write a post about homesickness, and feeling the distance.

We're currently on our third week of studying abroad...and they say that once you've hit two or three weeks, you hit the wall.

Some of my new family <3

This means that one may begin experiencing feeling out of place, missing the familiarity of home, food and people, and culture shock sets in. While I haven't exactly been feeling massive amounts of heart-wrenching homesickness... I can't lie; I have been feeling a bit out of place here, and developed a sort of knot in my stomach that hasn't left me alone. Many of these feelings (I am sure) have developed due to this sickness that has been with me the past week. Coughing, sneezing, runny nose... Ugh. Feeling miserable in general is awful, but feeling miserable when you're abroad and wanting to have an amazing time is even worse. Nevertheless, I've been doing a pretty solid job of sucking it up, if I do say so myself. I've still been traveling, going out to eat, attending all my classes, working out and seeing my friends!



Before I go on, it's important to note: I was ready for this! I knew this trip would be a learning experience and a challenging one at that, I readied myself for it.
However, this is still something I need to address for the sake of my family and friend's knowledge... Just because I knew I would feel culture shock doesn't mean I knew exactly how I would feel when I got here. Everything seems different and amplified when you are adjusting to a new country and culture.

The good news? I have the most amazing friends here. It's one thing to have people to talk, travel and laugh with...but when those people are also consistently checking up on you, bringing food to someone who is too sick to leave their room and ALWAYS making sure you feel comfortable in any situation you are in... I have no words to describe my gratitude for all the love and kindness my new 'family' has shown me here.

On our way to Fes! From left to right in back: Taylor, Alyssa and Raul

Having that kind of support, along with the solidarity in experiencing the new and unknown almost makes that knot in my stomach and amplified stress/sickness melt away altogether. Shout out to you guys!

Today I am sitting in the library typing up this post while my friends around me are working on their homework for the next few days. (We are all very dedicated students ;)) After homework and maybe some time at the gym, we're going to get some of the best, and also most inexpensive sushi I've ever had! On another note, I have been invited to stay with my friend Sultan and his family in Rabat this upcoming weekend! I am so excited for this trip. 1. Because it will be so awesome to finally see beautiful Rabat (the capital city of Morocco) and get out of chilly Ifrane. And 2. Because it will be so nice to be around a family, and enjoy a home cooked Moroccan meal. :) Thank you Sultan! Stay tuned for a post all about that trip!

Sultan and myself!

That's all I really wanted to talk about in this post! My next topic will be about our weekend trip to Fes! (Sorry for the delays!) Hope everyone back home is healthy and happy. Love you all!

Sofia, xoxo