On the Beginning of the End

I write this on a train before the start of my study tour to Berlin. I’ve been sitting down for the past five hours, and now I'm stuck for the next hour and a half or so. As I check my to-do list of work, I realize more and more that final assignments are in sight.

When people tell you the semester will fly by, they really aren’t joking. While you are here, everything feels so infinite. Now, towards the end of it all, I’m being confronted with the reality that my daily routine will be broken again, that I won’t be here forever.

A couple of days ago, in a panicked daze, I wrote a bucket list and taped it onto my wall so I could remember to do everything that I hadn’t done yet. So far, I’ve checked a good amount off. If I don't end up able to do everything, that's okay. I don’t regret anything that I’ve done here, but I am stuck in a strange limbo. I  want to go home, and I want to stay here. 

One of the things on my bucket list: SMK Fridays where they have free entry to the museum and special events for a couple of Fridays out of the year

Spend as much time with your new friends as you can 

This didn’t really occur to me at first. I’m more into bumping into people than organizing formal hangouts, but in short-term situations like this, that can mean not seeing someone for weeks at a time. If you want to spend time with people, you should do it. I know that feels annoyingly self-explanatory, but for me at least, it’s hard to get into that mindset sometimes. You think of what people might think of you, or if they even like you enough to hang out with you. It’s always worth a try. 

Savor your travel

I didn’t travel as much as many other people do, but no matter how much you travel, you should enjoy it. This also sounds very self-explanatory, but you might never be in those places again. When it came to planning and thinking about outside travel beyond my study tours, I tried to be intentional in how I set up things for myself. For example,  I planned an evening activity each day so that I’d have something to look forward to. Everyone has different priorities, but mine were to take it slow and really get to know the place.

Stage at my hostel in Prague, Czech Inn

Document your routine 

I take pictures of everything. My memory isn’t the greatest, so in order to remember a trip or a great meal I had, I must take a photo of it. I looked back at this a lot when I journal. One thing I wish I had started sooner, though, was documenting my everyday life. Taking pictures of the metro, of Islands Brygge, where I live, my route to DIS every day. The instinct is to always take pictures of the remarkable, but the mundane is just as important. 

Find your place

This was something that my professor brought up on our study tour. She asked if any of us had a place that we felt very connected to in Copenhagen. A place where we feel safe, that we can remember, and show our kids if we ever decide to come back. If my place were anywhere, it would be Østersparken, which I have only been to a couple of times for hours at a time, or maybe The Living Room cafe, which I’ve been to a lot with one friend. Broadly, though, any jazz club in the world will feel like home.  

Jazz bar in Prague called AghaRTA

As I wrap this up on the train back from my study tour,  I can’t think of anything more symbolic than the quick passing of time. I’ve been looking forward to this trip all semester. I’ve blinked, and now it’s over. During our first full day in Berlin, I went to the room of two of my classmates, and we ate snacks and talked about our day. Soon, we migrated to the topic of going home and the air that was thick with sadness. It was like everyone couldn’t help but whisper.