Josh Lowe's Expectations essay

The following is a short essay concerning my expectations for the trip.

International Expectations

               Soon. Soon I will be in a different country, something that I have never done in my life, and frankly, I’m nervous. I am one who finds it rather easy to get used to new surroundings and new lifestyles, and I am sure that these skills of mine will be tested in the 3 new countries I will be visiting. Being someone who is good at adapting to new situations I tend not to expect much out of new things, but instead love to be surprised when things turn out to be amazing.

After doing a little bit of research into the areas we will be visiting (as part of another assignment for this course) I was able to excite myself into all of the natural landforms on the itinerary. I personally enjoy seeing massive landmarks on the earth, both natural and man-made. Seeing the beautiful sights as just part of the everyday scenery will be interesting, and I am jealous of the residents in these areas for their backyard views.  Along with the research of the landscape, I discovered how important religion is to the areas we will be visiting, and how lucky I am to not have to worry about the prominent social struggle from regions only a few miles away from my own.

We will be starting our adventures in Edinburgh, Scotland. Scotland is the country in the bunch that I know the least about and I would love to see what all it has to offer. Traditional Scottish attire and musical culture are very alive today and that is only possible if the traditions are truly excellent, otherwise no one would still be carrying them on into later generations. My previous roommate’s favorite place in the world was Scotland and his family had a love for Scottish things. Hearing everyday people speaking with an accent similar to how my old roommate did be the norm and having myself speaking like an American as the “different” voice will be an interesting experience.

Only 3 days after arriving in Edinburgh, Scotland our group will be taking a train to London, England. England is the area we are visiting that I am most familiar with. I have a few people on my mind when I think of Great Britain in general, and they are all from England. Seeing the people and conversing with the community is what I am looking forward to the most. I know that there are going to be some people that might react negatively to me by just my accent, but I trust that most of the people there will be as willing to converse with me, as I would be willing to converse with a person with a British accent if they were in America. I am hoping that London will be a good place to kick back and get to know new people.

8 days later after arriving to London, we will be heading to Ireland. I have heard a lot of positive things about Ireland and nearly every one of them concerned the bar scene. Being 20, I have never been to a bar for a drink of some alcohol, but I feel that I have enough knowledge and experience with alcohol to not make a fool of myself and get into trouble. However much drinking will be had in the British Isles, the overwhelming majority of my time will be spent enjoying the sights and trying to get to know new and interesting people.

Drinking while overseas I think will be able to take the load off of my nerves for getting to know new people. I am typically shy around new people, but I am willing to put away my shyness to better my experience in Scotland, England and Ireland. Steven is a guy that will hopefully be spending evenings with myself some nights getting a drink at the local bars and talking with the locals (as well as be a team for safety purposes) so at least we’ll know one person there. Now don’t get me wrong, I won’t be drinking every night, but I will want to go out and have a fun night every now and then.

This trip is going to be a really good experience for me. Even if everything I had in my mind for what would happen goes completely backwards, that will still be a learning experience.  I love being educated and I love learning I was wrong so that I can know what’s correct. I guess my only true expectation for this trip is to learn something. Personally, I don’t care what I learn, as long as it makes me a more informed individual.

One day I am sure that looking back on this trip will be a positive memory. I cannot wait to get started.