Advice for aspiring study-abroaders, Part 1

 

Study abroaders 1Some of you may or may not be aware that I am preparing to study abroad during the upcoming spring semester, and I plan on taking YOU along on my adventure through my blogs when I’m in Chile!

Having recently resurfaced from drowning in a vast ocean of study abroad program application paperwork, I would like to lend y’all a few tips on how to prepare for the initial ups and downs of deciding on and applying for a study abroad program.

There are a gazillion awesome places to visit in this world, and studying abroad provides an opportunity to live in one of those many incredible lugares and get to know the people, language and culture. Great! So where do you start?

In a nutshell…

Here’s a quick rundown of what you’re dealing with:

  • Selecting a country in which to study
  • A city to study in
  • A university
  • Study abroad program you’ll go through (API and AIFS are two examples)

All of this varies depending on your major. Some countries have several cities with multiple universities that offer classes for a number of majors. Others might have one university available to foreign students and only offers a limited amount of classes.

Also, different study abroad programs give you access to different countries and universities. For example, one program might allow you to study in Puerto Rico while another doesn’t give you that option. Or perhaps you’ll have three different study abroad programs that offer Chile as an option, but they might be for different universities. It all depends.

Keep these in mind when we dive into the deep stuff! Continue reading →

Saddle Club, rapping and ribbons

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IMG_4773You haven’t had the true college sports team experience until you’ve crammed a herd of horse girls (and the sole guy on our team) into two giant vans and embarked on a five hour drive across the state. Sleeping on each others shoulders, taking pictures that will appear on the end-of-season slide show of team members snoozing with their mouths open (a practice one of our captains calls fly catching) – now that’s team bonding at its finest.

Last Friday the NDSU hunt seat equestrian team drove across Minnesota for our season opener, a show at University of Wisconsin River Falls. We call ourselves equestriennes, but after this weekend I’ve begun to think that word is a little overrated. Because lets be real here – we’re all still little girls at heart who love ponies. I found that out on Saturday as I sat on the bleachers with my teammates and awaited my turn to ride. I have no idea how the subject arose, but somehow I mentioned the Saddle Club in conversation – you know, those books made into a television show about BFFs Stevie, Lisa and Carol and their adventures at Pine Hollow stable? Continue reading →

In pursuit of nothing… and doing it well

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The moon shines bright above our dock

We’ve all had those days, when life trips you up and kicks you over and over again when you’re down. I just survived a “life-tripping-me-up” kind of week.

I watch World News Tonight with David Muir (my favorite TV show) every night, and it never fails to humble me. No matter how bad I think I’ve got it, someone else has it worse. Nevertheless, it was still a rough week.

Last Monday I took an exam and turned in the first component of a semester-long research paper, feeling pretty confident that I would do well on both. On Wednesday I found out that I hadn’t, and learned that I would have to pick a new topic and start over on my paper because it wasn’t what the professor was looking for. That threw me into a tail spin. I loved my topic, and all that work…

Thursday was nothing special, just another day. I went to practice for the riding team that evening feeling enthused about the upcoming jumping lesson. I must have been too focused to realize I was getting sick throughout the hour-long lesson, but when I dismounted I started feeling nauseous. Long story short, I puked all over my car on the drive home. Continue reading →

Mornings

At 5 a.m. the alarm on my phone rattled me awake with its little jingle, a not-so-gentle reminder that it’s time to get up soon.

A few minutes later a second alarm would go off, again reminding me that I should probably get up.

The third alarm says ‘come on, up and at-em!’

My actual alarm clock resounded at 5:30, the fourth and final alarm screaming country music at me from across the bedroom and demanding that I get out of bed RIGHT NOW.

And I’m up, tripping over programs, past performances and mountains of clothing that have found a home on my bedroom floor as I stumble over to turn down the music.

Throw on a pair of jeans, hair in a pony tail, tucked underneath a baseball cap. Stuff my recorder in my front pocket, press pass around my neck, pen crammed into a back pocket along with folded up past performances. Continue reading →

They’re Baaaaaack!!!!!

What does my riding helmet, equestrian team tryouts and rodents have to do with one another?….

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And so that I never forget the traumatic experience, they generously left their mark on my helmet.

Anyone who knows me well is aware of my aversion to mice. I can appreciate that they’re one of God’s creatures and they provide food for other animals, but aside from that I think they’re dreadful little critters. There’s just something about their beady little black eyeballs and wormy tail – Just… ew.

So while other folks are rejoicing in the coming of fall so they can wear Ugg boots and drink pumpkin spice lattes and look at the pretty leaves, I’m completely dreading it. Because when the air turns chilly and the leaves begin to fall, rodents like to find warm and cozy places to make their home.

My family lives out in the country and our house in nestled in the woods along the Red River. Said rodents seem to think that our cars are miniature kingdoms for them to rule, so they simply migrate from the woods right into our vehicles, chewing whatever they please and stashing their nuts and mousey belongings in every nook and cranny. Continue reading →

Travers Day ~ Part 2

Suits in the print of hundred dollar bills, plaid suits, patriotic suits. If I have one regret from Travers day, it’s that I didn’t take any photos of all the crazy men’s suits. Usually it’s the women who shine when it comes to fashion, but the men milling around Saratoga were absolutely killing it!

Despite the large quantities of people, the track didn’t feel overwhelmingly packed as I feared it would. It seemed much the same as the day of the Whitney Stakes, with the only difference being you needed a special pass to go anywhere.

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Paddock patrons flash their badges.

A black dot on your media badge to enter the press box, a special sticker for the paddock for the first five races and when the stakes races began, a special badge. So many rules put in place because of American Pharoah’s upcoming appearance.

The first few races were spent adjusting to the chaotic atmosphere and snapping a few winner’s circle selfies with The Special team. Of course we worked as well, but work never really felt like work at Saratoga.

One of my favorite trainers, Barclay Tagg – conditioner of 2003 Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide – won the fourth race that day with a 2-year-old colt named Tale of S’avall, so I grabbed him for an interview. Continue reading →

Travers Day ~ Part 1

Now that I’ve had a few days to recuperate after jet-setting across the country for a final weekend of racing at Saratoga Racecourse, it’s time to get back to blogging. My productivity level took a nose dive when it came to doing anything school related today, and this seemed like a far better option than reading an organizational communication textbook. Plus, I’ve been itching to dig through my photos from Travers weekend!

Last Friday morning (the 28th) I was in definite danger of going slightly crazy. My bags were packed and ready to go, my flight itinerary was memorized and I had texted my Saratoga friends about a million times reminding them of how excited I was to return. After surviving nearly the entire first week back to school, only one class stood between me and my flight returning to the place I’ve now deemed my second home.

One. Class.

My parents were probably as anxious for me to leave as I was, as they had to endure an entire week of my crazy ups and downs. For those of you who’ve seen the Disney movie “Inside Out,” I pretty much bounced back and forth between resembling the characters ‘Sadness’ and ‘Joy.’ One moment I was moping around the house, complaining about how down in the dumps I was to be back and what a grind school is, and the next I was bouncing off walls, wildly singing and dancing, reveling in the fact that I was returning for the Travers Stakes.

As you probably gathered from my last blog written on Friday, I was pretty excited.

Despite the amount of traveling and the number of plane rides I’ve taken over the years, I’m still not a fan of planes. Airports yes. Planes no. Airports are equipped with the best people watching you could possibly find. Airplanes are stuffy and confining, cold, dirty and not to mention a gazillion feet up in the air. Unless I’m mounted on a horse, I like my feet to be firmly planted on the ground, thank you very much.

I flew into the Albany airport around 10:20 p.m. that night and got to bed at some point after midnight. When my alarm went off at 4:30 Saturday morning I might have questioned my own sanity, but only momentarily. By the time I arrived at the track at 5:30 my worries galloped away with each passing Thoroughbred. It was almost as though I had turned back the clock and the week spent in school never even happened. I watched the sun rise over the track, illuminating the steam that blew in puffs from the horse’s nostrils into the crisply chilling late summer air as they galloped along. Continue reading →

Saratoga to Fargo… And back to Saratoga!

It feels as though I stepped right out of summer and into fall.

In previous summers I’ve allowed myself to gradually begin thinking about school so I can mentally prepare for the daily grind of classes and textbooks once again. But this year I was too busy to even consider it until I was in the car driving out of Saratoga Springs.

All of a sudden my life went from 100 mph to like, 10. I’ve gone from waking up around 5 a.m. every day at Saratoga to go to the track, to dragging my butt out of bed around 6 to feed my own horses (whom I love dearly, but it’s not quite the same as watching morning workouts) and figuring out my new class schedule for the semester.

If I really wanted to throw a good ole’ pity party, I’d go into how I haven’t been in school since December of 2014 (eight months!) because of my internship with the American Quarter Horse Association. But I’ll spare you. Continue reading →

#FargotoSaratoga Day 4 ~ Farmington to Saratoga Springs

Approximately 1,510 miles after leaving Fargo, I have arrived in Saratoga Springs!

Prior to leaving Farmington, we gave ourselves a mini tour of Finger Lakes racetrack. Although there was no racing, and I’m not even sure if they had workouts or if it was a dark day because we arrived so late, it was still a lovely little track. It was neatly constructed and beautifully landscaped with careful attention taken to the presentation and the gardening. I would love to visit on a day the track runs races.

From there it was a pretty uneventful drive to Saratoga Springs. My idea of being great car company for my poor mother was reading her random pieces of horse racing news and singing loudly and terribly to Taylor Swift songs. I think I missed my calling and I should have entered the music industry. The difference would be that people would pay me not to sing.

As the landscape transformed into beautiful rolling hills blanketed by trees, my anticipation grew. It seemed as though each town we passed as we inched closer to Saratoga Springs had its own unique charm. My experience with New York State is limited, but this area is certainly a scenic region to visit.

And finally… we made it! The charisma of Saratoga Springs has already far surpassed my expectations. From the little bit I’ve seen so far, the city is the true definition of class. I can’t wait to get started at Saratoga, and I truly believe  that the best is yet to come.

#FargotoSaratoga Day 3 — Port Huron to Farmington

I love traveling, but I’m sorry to admit that I have a severe bedbug paranoia when it comes to staying in hotels. After a particularly unfortunate encounter with bed bugs on a previous trip, my mom and I have become amateur bed bug hunters. No matter what scale of hotel we happen to be staying at, our nights start with ripping the sheets from the mattress and scanning every nook and cranny of the bed for bedbug poop. Yes, you heard that right, folks.

Last night, our cautious nature (or slight obsession, depending on how you look at it) payed off when my mom found someone’s wallet next to our bed. After a call to the non-emergency dispatch center, the wallet was picked up by the authorities and sent on its way to the original owner. A happy ending for the poor guy who was missing his driver’s license, but I guess that tells you how well hotel rooms are cleaned.

Heavy rain and semi’s up the wazoo made for a nail biter of a drive through Canada this morning, but my mom handled it well and transported us safely to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.

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A view of the American Falls and Bridal Falls from the Canadian side.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it’s worthless in comparison to a real life experience. I’ve seen plenty of photos of Niagara Falls, and not a single one did any justice to the magnificence of seeing it in person. Continue reading →