Thank You, Dubrovnik!

Ten months ago I was sitting in my study abroad adviser’s office crying. It was a mixture of happy tears and nervous tears, mostly nervous tears. I was leaving for Dubrovnik in one week and I still didn’t know where I was going to live. Along with thinking that I was going be homeless in a foreign city, I was also nervous about going to this new university where I directly enrolled by myself.

It’s safe to say that I worried for no reason. I did find a place to live (after moving apartments 5 times) and I even extended my study abroad to an entire year. I fell in love with a city that most people have never heard about and I made the best of friends. I was able to experience a small private university and learn build relationships with my professors and faculty members. I learned more in one year of study abroad than I have the past two years in university. I experienced the city when it was crowded with tourists and when I was the only person walking down the street. I became friends with the locals and can’t wait to reunite with them somewhere else around the world. I watched countless sunsets. The beach became my second home. Everyday was a new adventure and I lived for the stories. The only way to describe my experience is ironically as indescribable.

Thank you, Dubrovnik for surrounding me with amazing people, for teaching me how to eat an oyster, for allowing me to live in Paradise, for teaching me to appreciate the little things, and for giving me an experience of a lifetime.