Megan Briggs

Ready or not, here I come!

I can't believe it, but the day has finally arrived: I leave for Wellesley tonight!

Tomorrow morning I'll arrive really early and try to nap and unpack before my FYM (first-year mentor) training starts.

Our first years arrive August 25 for Orientation! I remember what an exciting and terrifying day it was for me. I hardly remember anything that actually happened, even though I'm told I met some of my current best friends. My sophomore year I was here as an RA (resident assistant), helping the first years move in, which was a lot more fun (probably because I didn't have to actually move in). I've been gone from Wellesley for so long that I think it will really be a touching homecoming.

Three weeks in California

With my limited time here in California, I’ve kept myself quite busy. Talk about culture shock—two flights transported me from my exciting European adventures back to the harsh reality of organizing my suitcases and boxes, doing laundry, and repacking again.

But the so-much-to-do-so-little-time-to-do-it conundrum never stopped me from cramming in lots of activities (what would a Wellesley woman be if she weren’t an overachiever?), so I’ve been keeping busy.

My high school friends and I had a little reunion by planning a mother-daughter dinner. It was fun to see all of them and catch up. Except for Kate, who visited me in Spain, I haven’t seen any of them for a year or more. Sometimes when I come back from being away, I feel less connected to them because they all go to school in California and keep in much closer contact. For me, that’s one of the things that makes going “home” tough. But at the same time, these girls will always be my friends, and it’s good to know that time passing won’t separate us completely.

Next I headed north on a slightly bizarre family road trip with both my parents, who seem to get along despite the fact they’re divorced. The motivation was to see my brother, Chandler, up at his farm in Arroyo Grande. He’s an intern/apprentice at Huasna Valley Farms, which makes my parents happy because it’s a lot closer to Los Angeles than Seattle, where he interned on a farm last year.

The road trip continued up to San Francisco, where we enjoyed a marathon of art museums and delicious restaurants. My dad works hard to pick out the best vegetarian restaurants for me, and even found a lively Bolivian restaurant with a flamenco show! What a throwback to Spain. I was also lucky enough to see two friends who live in the area this summer, one from high school and one from Wellesley. Then we went back down to the farm for the weekend. Sleeping there was certainly a personal challenge for me because I hate spiders (sometimes I don’t know if I believe that my brother and I are related), but I was happily compensated in the freshest fruits and vegetables—literally! I even helped harvest some.

My dad dropped my mom and me off in Ventura, where some of my relatives live. We joined up with my aunt Jill, my cousin Christina, and my grandma Jean for a short trip to Mammoth Lakes. Mammoth Mountain is a big ski resort where we like to ski (we used to go more when I wasn’t away at Wellesley), and during the summer we can go hiking and swimming. The five girls had a fun trip that included a hike out to a lake and a gondola ride up to the top of Mammoth Mountain, 10,000 feet up!

And now I’m back at my mom’s house. I’ve been lucky enough to see my grandparents on my dad’s side, and unlucky enough to have a couple dentist appointments (checking out all the work I had done in Spain, and adding to it). I’ve mostly b een getting ready—and excited—for Wellesley.

Getting ready for Wellesley?

OK so who out there is an incoming first year? Who's moving to Wellesley in LESS THAN A MONTH? Do you have questions or worries? What are you most excited about? What are you most nervous about? Please please please post comments and tell me!

My biggest piece of advice is to try not to worry. Easy for me to say, I know. But honestly. I was terrified that I wouldn't make any friends or meet anyone I had anything in common with. I was afraid of getting lost. I was completely overwhelmed by all the information I felt like I didn't have.

But you will survive! I promise. The transition is different for everyone, but you will make it! Try to think about all the positive things--mostly, I think, that you will grow up. SO MUCH. You will meet all kinds of amazing people who are just as terrified as you are, and you'll help each other through it, and you'll be helped by all kinds of support networks at Wellesley. You're not alone.

And you younger students, are you getting ready to start senior year? Junior year? Younger maybe (probably some of you out there)? How do you imagine move-in day? Have you helped older siblings move in? What are you most worried about? AP classes and college applications? Again, just try not to worry too much (applying to a safety school helps a lot with those worries). If you're pretty serious about Wellesley, look into our Early Decision and Early Evaluation programs (info is here). What questions and concerns do you have? I'll try to answer your comments!

Really, guys, let's get some feedback--I feel like I'm talking to myself!

Greetings from Budapest!

Kristina's flight left this morning, so I'm in here alone until Friday. It's a great city and there is so much to do that I feel overwhelmed! I already miss Kristina, though. We had such a great summer of traveling together.

We spent a day and a half in Budapest, then went to the city of Pécs, three hours outside of Budapest by train, to spend a day and a half. Kristina spent the fall semester of her 7th grade year here with family friends (we are staying with them in their new home), as well as a later summer here with her mother and sister. She remembers a lot of things about the town, and she showed me the places she used to live, plus her school and some places she liked to walk around and shop. We have spent the whole day with the wonderful family and their two new children (well, new meaning they were born since Kristina last visited. They are actually 3 and 6 years old), who don't speak English but are still very fun. They were incredibly cute, and eager to play with the two of us.

 

We arrived to Budapest on a loooong train (16 hours) from Split, Croatia, where we had spent the three previous days. In Croatia, we were determined to go to the beach, so we spent one day on an island and took a quick dip in the Adriatic, despite the wind and cold (we were unlucky with the weather, after lots of hot days before Croatia). Swimming has proven more fruitful in Budapest, surprisingly enough, because of the thermal baths and pools that are so popular. Kristina took me to the one that has always been her favorite, on an island in the Danube!

The news

Kristina and I lucked out with our "hostel" reservations here in Split, Croatia--the landlord made a mistake and reserved us an entire flat to ourselves, with two beds, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a balcony all to ourselves. And the big bonuses...air conditioning and a TV! We finally got to watch the news and be aware of what is going on in the world--convenient timing since the main story we heard about was that Radovan Karadzic was finally captured after 13 years in hiding.

He will face charges of genocide committed during the Bosnian War, most horrifically the slaughter of almost 8000 Muslim boys and men in the town of Srebrenica in 1995 and the shelling of Sarajevo.

It's really such a mind-boggling coincidence that I was just in Sarajevo! I always knew that there had been a lot of conflict in the Balkan region, but I was really too young during the war to remember any of it clearly. Now it's like history is happening right in front of my eyes, right in the country I just left on a long bus ride.

But where are the cucumbers?

In Istanbul we had breakfast included at our hostel, and it consisted of the following: bread with butter, cheese spread, and/or jam; cucumbers, tomatoes, and black olives; hardboiled eggs; and tea. This was different from our norm, because I've never really had those vegetables included in my breakfast. Then, here in Sarajevo, our hotel has served us all kinds of new breakfast things, like really strong cheese, noodle soup, or savory herbal tea.

Kristina and I talked about how something as seemingly insignificant as breakfast could really contribute to culture shock. When I lived in Madrid and did my own shopping, I could still have just what I liked for breakfast, and for lunch and dinner, too. But it must be kind of tough for international students at Wellesley, or at any university or environment where food is controlled, to walk down to the cafeteria craving their typical breakfast that their moms always served them, only to be disappointed, wondering where the cucumbers are. We worry a lot about how the really big things might affect us, but I think it's the little things. I never really gave much thought to breakfast until it was changed.

I've also been thinking about the warnings I've gotten about "reverse cultural shock" and the transition back to living in the US. I never really worried about it as I was preparing to move to Spain (I had enough to worry about), but now it's starting to seem a little intimidating to go back. In some ways, when I think about transitioning from living independently in a foreign country back to living the dorm life, I can't help but feel like it might be a step backward in some ways. But there are a lot of ways that I can make it a step forward, too, like remembering all the things I learned and all the ways I grew and changed in Spain. And appreciating the availability of yogurt at breakfast!

Where cultures and seas collide

Hello from beautiful Istanbul! What an amazing, enchanting city this is--and with such kind people. In our cheap hostel, we can see the Blue Mosque from our balcony and hear the call to prayer five times a day. From the terrace where we have breakfast, the Blue Mosque faces the green seas that are such an important part of the city.

I didn't realize how much I missed the sea in Madrid until I came here and could see it and go swimming! We went to the beach and dipped in the Black Sea, and the next day we took a ferry out to an island and swam in the Sea of Marmara. The ferries run like commuter trains and don't cost much more than a dollar! It also amazes me that one side of the city is Europe and the other side of Asia. The mixing of cultures is really impressive.

Even though it seems a little roundabout (and maybe I'm overthinking it), I think going to Wellesley truly opened up the world to me. Most of the wonderful experiences I'm having can be traced back to the fact that I go there. And not just logistics, like the fact that I studied abroad in Madrid and became friends with a guy from Turkey who also studied at my university--it's the mindset, too, that we are strong women who can do anything. I grew a lot moving away from my home state. Then I grew a whole lot more when I decided to volunteer with Global Learning in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Mexico (it really was some global learning, right?). I never would have worked for this organization if I hadn't heard about it at Wellesley, and then I might not have realized how independent I am capable of being. And then I might not be in Istanbul right now, and I certainly wouldn't be here with my lovely friend Kristina, whom I met on move-in day first year.

Kristina came up with a new tourism slogan for Istanbul that we both like. Istanbul: where cultures and seas collide :)

(s)wellesley

I’ve been spending a lot of time, especially very recently, thinking about how un-ready I am to leave Spain. It’s true. I’m not ready for this year to be over, even though it already is, technically speaking.

But I decided it’s time to think about all the things I’m looking forward to, too. I feel so lucky to have lots of places that I consider “home,” and Wellesley is an important one of them. It will be strange to be a SENIOR next year—I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that idea. But it’s also a very exciting idea!

I think I’m most excited about my Wellesley classes (the true nerd in me emerges…). Studying in Spain has given me more perspective and helped me realize how much I truly appreciate small class sizes and my wonderful, thoughtful, dynamic professors. I learned a lot here in Madrid, but I think at Wellesley my classes are more demanding throughout the semester, so I end up giving more, and then I end up getting more back.

I’m also looking forward to returning to some of my activities on campus, as well as starting a new one. I’ll be back at my two jobs, off campus as a receptionist and on campus at the Board of Admission. I also volunteer with the Board of Admission, and this year I’ll help coordinate lots of activities for prospective students. The newest addition to my busy schedule is my position as a First-Year Mentor, or FYM at our acronym-crazed campus. Every first-year student gets placed into a group of 15 peers, who are led through orientation by their junior or senior FYM. I think it’s such a great program that gives first years yet another resource to help them transition to Wellesley.

Something else I missed was seeing the seasons change. It’s such a treat because I’ve really only done it twice (my beach town in California doesn’t really have four seasons). The fall foliage, the winter wonderland, and the happy springtime are such highlights of Wellesley and of Boston. I can’t wait to spend more time in Boston as well, though I’m wondering how it will compare to the nocturnal lifestyle I’ve come to love in Madrid. Next year, I’ll have to start thinking about getting back to campus on the bus at the same time when I would start thinking about going out here in Madrid!

Most of all, though, I’ve missed my friends—my sisters. I’ll be living in the same residence hall where I lived my first year—the residence hall where I met my best friends, where I navigated my way through my first move-in day, my first first day of class, my first finals week. Lots of firsts, and now, appropriately, lots of lasts.

My last day in Madrid

My dad has been in Madrid this week, which has been really fun, but I also felt bad because I had my finals and was a little sleep-deprived and stressed (actually, a lot). I forced him to be very independent and go by himself to lots of museums and other sights, but he was up for the challenge and got to see a lot of the fabulous city that has been my home.

Tomorrow we are leaving for Barcelona with Kristina, my friend from Wellesley. We can’t wait to see the ocean and the Gaudí architecture, among many other things. I think there is a little bit of a rivalry between Madrid and Barcelona, so, though maybe I’m a little biased simply because I’ve had more time to fall in love with Madrid, I’m looking forward to seeing what the other side has to offer.

Today we had a wonderful (and exhausting) day. I think I discovered my new favorite museum in Madrid, the Sorolla Museum, which was made up of his works and his private collection in his own house. I loved his taste almost as much as his own artwork. Lots of people had told me I would love this museum, and they were right on! I highly recommend the museum if you’re ever in the city. And completely unrelated, Spain won the Eurocup! How exciting! The city is going crazy...

In case I don’t have computer access in Barcelona, I’ll try to write and post some photos when I’m back in Madrid next week. Then it’s off on the summer journey with Kristina, which I can’t wait to tell you all about.

Is anyone else traveling in Europe this summer? Any other exciting plans? Any suggestions for my travels? I remember that my last summer before going to Wellesley I was extremely nervous about what the upcoming year would hold for me. I stayed at home and made the most of the last times my high school friends and I would all have together. Live it up, seniors!

Done and DONE!

I just got back home from taking my LAST FINAL EXAM IN SPAIN!!!!!

On the upside, the semester is finally over :D

On the downside, the semester is already over :/