As I sit here, in my cozy abode in the Western Suburbs of Chicago, I wonder– how many more episodes of Breaking Bad can I watch before I should probably start packing? And yes, I do know that I am several years late to the whole Breaking Bad obsession, but I did finish Friends on Netflix, so what else is a girl to do?
More seriously, though, I am at the precipice of a trip of a lifetime, an experience I expect to look back on many years from now. In those fifteen long seconds while Netflix loads the next episode of my favorite Albuquerque-based businessmen, I start to reflect on my intentions for what the next few months will bring.
I’ve received mountains of advice from friends who have been abroad before, and even from friends who have participated in the same Public Health in Paris program I will. The advice tends to range from restaurant recommendations and travel tips to urges to make a greater effort to speak the language and spend more time in my home city rather than spending every weekend traveling throughout Europe. It’s good advice, and while I will take it all into account, I can’t say I won’t talk with my classmates in English from time to time or choose to spend the weekend exploring Amsterdam rather than getting to know Paris better.
What I do hope to do, more than anything else, is to remain mindful of everything I see, hear, taste, and experience during my time in Paris. I want to pay attention to every second of the experience, to be conscious and aware of every moment. I want to be engaged with my surroundings and not take one single thing for granted.
That is, of course, after I finish Breaking Bad.