As soon as I stepped foot on Northwestern’s campus, I knew one of the things that was going to be on my college bucket list was studying abroad. I had such a passion for traveling and have had a couple of opportunities to go outside of the country in the past. Once I discovered that NU provided a global health minor that required you to study abroad I knew I had to get involved. Combining my two passions of traveling and public health was the ideal situation for me! I was filled with so much excitement within the months leading up to Mexico. Mexico is a country filled with such rich and interesting history. I couldn’t wait to be fully immersed within the culture, language, and especially the food. I was also excited for the classes and to be able to compare to contrast the health systems and policies within Mexico to those within the United States.
However, right before leaving for Mexico is when the nerves began to kick in. Even though I had been out of the country before without my family, I had never been away for more than 2 weeks. I began to think about how home sick I might become and whether or not I would have a good time. I also spoke very minimal Spanish and was scared about the language barrier. Thankfully, I had family and friends that reassured me of my decision. After getting over this freakout, the excitement came over me again. I was going to be able to experience attending a university within another country, while making new friends and getting to learn all about the history of Mexico.
