A Come-to-Jesus Moment!

Hi! I have some really exciting updates to share!

First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone who has donated to my GoFundMe! Words cannot express how thankful I am to each and every one of you. Because of your support, I can go on this trip, and that means the world to me. I appreciate the outpouring of support from the sweet comments left on my Instagram account and my mom’s Facebook posts. So far we have raised $1,500! 

From the donations thus far, I was able to purchase my plane ticket! My biggest fear about this whole trip has been flying. I have never flown by myself, much less internationally, so I had no idea what to expect when going through customs or how to plan the flights. I ended up scheduling a meeting with my study abroad advisor, and she was able to connect me with a couple of other students in my program. I will not be flying alone!

I have three flights: BNA to Boston, Boston to Amsterdam, and Amsterdam to Florence. On the last flight, I will be flying with two other girls from school. Altogether, it will be about seventeen hours. Who knew booking plane tickets would be so stressful?! I will be flying out of BNA, and the other girls are flying out of the Memphis airport. It took some time to coordinate the flights, but we finally got it right! I was just so happy to have that part done. One of the girls has flown internationally before, so she has some experience that will hopefully help me out.

If you have any tips for navigating airports and flying in general, please leave them below!

Next, I am thrilled to announce that I received the University of Memphis’s study abroad scholarship!!! When I got the email, I started screaming bloody murder-style and called my dad. Later, I found out I was awarded more money than I originally thought. I thought the scholarship amount was $1,500, but I received $2,500!! I started crying when I realized how much the award amount was. This scholarship basically covers the program fee of $2,950! The study abroad office told me if I applied, it was likely I would receive a scholarship, but I wasn’t sure. All of the money stuff has been kind of stressful, and this is a major relief. I won’t know if I got the second scholarship until May 1st, so pray for me! 

With this latest award, my fundraising total is $4,000! A little over $2,000 remains, and my grandmother has agreed to help me out. I am still collecting donations, if you are able to give! Again, I am so thankful for everyone’s generosity. 

This past weekend, I drove down to Alabama to make thank you cards with my aunt, Jac. If you don’t know, she has a whole room dedicated to stamping and making cards. The walls are covered with colorful cardstock, lined with ink pads, and fitted with shelves to hold all the different stamp sets. We scoured Pinterest, landed on a design, and got to work! Everyone who donates will receive a custom handmade card from this weekend! 

Aren't they so cute!

This morning, I had a meeting with the school in Florence, and they answered some of my questions. Oddly enough, I haven’t received a lot of information about the trip, which is stressing me out. We all know I am type A and need to know all the details, but this experience is really teaching me patience. Quite literally, I was looking at plane tickets with the wrong departure date because we had received so little information. I had to have a come-to-Jesus moment with my advisors and the school to get everything sorted out, and I feel so much better!

I will arrive on May 12th, orientation will be on the 13th, and classes start on the 14th. I will receive an email within the next two weeks detailing my arrival at the school, orientation, and class procedures. Every day, the school hosts some kind of event for students to partake in, so I am excited to participate in those activities. Tuesday nights are “Mind and Body” nights, and they will host yoga and pilates classes!! I will be a skinny queen! And on the weekends, I have the option to join tours to different cities. The school has its own spa run by students and industry professionals, along with its own fine dining restaurant and pastry shop! 

I joined a Facebook group for students studying abroad, and that has provided me with a lot of insight, mainly on mosquitoes. Apparently, Florence has a mosquito problem, so I am coming armed with bug spray, anti-itch cream, and mosquito bracelets. 

My amazing, saint of a history professor, Dr. Kwoba, connected me with one of his graduate students who is from Italy, Paola! So we scheduled a Zoom call, and she gave me some really helpful tips, like keeping my back to the wall on crowded trains (to prevent being groped), always having cash (since lots of places prefer cash over cards), not putting my phone in my back pocket (for fear of pickpocketing), and always asking for a receipt. Italy has a problem with tax evasion, so she said there will sometimes be people standing outside businesses asking to see your receipt, and if you don’t have it, you can be fined! She also comforted me about the potential language barrier and public transportation.

I have a Europe-specific orientation this Friday where I will meet all of the people going on the trip, and I am so excited about that! I will keep you all updated! 

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T-minus 26 days to Florence!

Grazie mille e arrivederci, 

Lauryn 

Have you flown internationally?

• Yes
• No