Expectations and Fear... Part 2 - Austin Karr end of trip post

 The very first picture I took in Italy, which I think is fitting to place here

Well, I am right up on the deadline for this post, much to Dr. Hames’s annoyance, I am sure. However, I have an excellent reason for this: while many of my classmates went home at the end of the program, I did not. For the last week, I have been in Europe, starting in Bologna, and now I’m in Berlin, which is where my adventure will end in the next few days. Yet, due to the fact that the trip isn’t over for me, it's not the easiest to write a final overview of the trip. But I know that is what I must do, so I want to quickly return to my original blog post from the beginning of the month, where I spoke briefly about expectations and fear.

For an entire post, I wrote about the fact that I didn’t know what to expect from a trip of this magnitude, as well as the insecurity of not having an answer to a fundamental question: “What are you looking forward to the most?” This trip was intimidating, as the expectation was that I would have the best time of my life and even more that it would be a life-changing event. Yet now, as I look back upon the 21 or so days that made up this JTerm, I have to make a realization. The trip did not live up to the expectations that were placed upon the trip by my friends and family.

The canals of Venice

Now, this is not a problem caused by the trip itself. I had a wonderful time, and it is an experience in which I am honored to have taken part. Yet, I think, as a person, it was something that didn’t indeed alter me in any specific way. My life didn’t radically change because I spent a month in Italy. More so, I would like to argue that I am returning to Washington pretty much the same, outside of an immense amount of new knowledge and even more pictures. 

 The view from my room in Fontecchio

But at the end of the day, that is okay. I may not have had the best weeks of my life, as I suspect my grandparents thought I would, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have a fantastic time. From the canals of Venice to the hillside of Fontecchio, and now on my own to the Brandenburg Gate, this trip seems like it’s been months, but it’s only been 26 days. Seeing objects and places I know from middle school textbooks is an experience that is worth every minute spent on the planes and buses. It was a fascinating look into a place that, ten years ago, I would never have expected to have seen in my lifetime. 

The Brandenburg Gate

This trip wasn’t perfect, nor did it change my life forever. 
But, for me, it was exactly what I wanted it to be… It was fun. 
 

Thank you, Alessio, thank you, Austin B, and thank you, Dr. Hames.

Till next time, Austin Karr, signing out.

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