Goals for Studying Abroad

So, these are my goals for studying abroad!  Some are kind of obvious things to do in England or when in Europe, while others are completely unrealistic but, as they say, aim for the stars, right?  I'll probably update this list again come winter break, with new goals/things I've done since posting this, but this is my preliminary list of what I want to do during my year abroad.

Goals for Going Abroad


1.  Go to:  Italy, Norway, Scotland, Germany, Ireland, & Spain.  (I want to go to more countries than this, but these are the countries I really want to make sure I visit!)

2.  Go to Shakespeare & Company bookstore in Paris and (obviously) buy a book there :)

3.  Go to Disneyland Paris!!!

4.  Go to the Alhambra in Spain.  It's a really beautiful palace that was built on a budget, but it's gorgeous, and I'd love to go and see it in person :)

5.  Try a new food once a month, starting with Fish & Chips!  (Well, okay, I've had Fish & Chips before, but what I've had here in the U.S. will definitely not be as good as the real thing.)

6.  Try to do something new once a month - whether going somewhere new, trying something new, etc.  I know this is kind of vague, but I want to see what my opportunities are once I get there.

7.  Write (creatively) 4 days a week.

8.  Take a photo at least once every week/make an effort to spend one day every week or two taking pictures.

9.  Buy fashion/sewing magazines for mi hermana.  She has been kind enough to start on making me a really nice, high quality jacket for my time in England (I'll post pictures here or a link to her sewing blog once it is done!).  As a way of paying her back, we agreed I would buy her foreign sewing magazines, like Knipmode and Burda.


10.  Buy cute underwear & bras in Europe!  - They are probably better quality/structure than what we have in the U.S. anyway.

11.  Join at least 1 club on campus.

12.  Look for volunteer/internship opportunities while in England.

13.  Make a travel blog (done) and continue to update it.

14.  Try to see the Lady Macbeth beatle dress:

Worn by Ellen Terry in 1888

Made of 1,000 beatle wings - don't worry, the beatles naturally shed their wings :)

15.  See a show at the Globe Theater!

16.  Visit a lot of art galleries while in Europe.  I don't want to do this on overkill, but I'd love to take advantage of the historical art Europe has to offer :)

17.  Watch "The Hour"...no idea what it is about, but it's supposed to be really good.

18.  Send lots of postcards to my friends and family!

19.  Experience a haunting!  Don't laugh (too much)...I'm actually a huge fan of SciFi channel's Ghost Hunter's and Ghost Hunter's International, and I'd think it'd be interesting to experience a ghost haunting/the paranormal.  (This goal kind of falls under the unrealistic category though, haha.)

20.  Make-out with Matt Smith of "Dr. Who".  When I told my friend and "roommate-for-life" Maggie that Matt Smith is an alum of the University I'm going to, she requested that I make out with him. While I realize this is probably the most unrealistic goal on this list (that even my chance of seeing him in person is slim-to-none), I figured I'd add it anyway, just for fun.  I'd also like to take this time to say that I personally prefer David Tennant, but I'd have no complaints or objections about snogging Matt Smith either ;)

Matt Smith from "Dr. Who"