ANNA KING
Florence Columnist
I thought I was through with firsts after my freshman year of college, but here I am again starting all over in Italy, a big place far from my small farm town roots. Being in Malibu was an amazing journey and I know that all of us overseas will miss it while we’re gone. However, every time I think about the adventures, beauty, hard times and laughter ahead I know that there is no place I’d rather be than exploring Florence and all it has to offer. So off we go, 50 strangers together, to the land of good food, where love is the language and where family truly means everything.
SARAH WING
Heidelberg Columnist
As I sit in the coziness of my living room and anticipate the year that lay ahead, it is hard to imagine that I will be 5,829 miles away from my home. I have been looking forward to these two semesters in Heidelberg for months, but now as I pack travel belts and wooly mittens I am beginning to sense the contrast between distant Heidelberg and the bubble of Pepperdine and Malibu.
I will soon be in a world where beer-steins flow like rain in Seattle, backpacks replace designer handbags and only three pairs of shoes are suggested. My imagination wants me to believe that arriving in Heidelberg will be like entering a storybook by Johanna Spyri, where folk music accompanies stein clanging and jolly men dance in lederhosen on grassy hilltops. No matter what I will experience, one thing is sure: I will definitely be out of my comfort zone. Ausgezeichnet — Excellent.
BRITTANY YEAROUT
Buenos Aires Columnist
I have always believed that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes the reason is instantly identified, other times it is harder to figure out. Going to school at Pepperdine has given me a greater purpose in life and helped me understand the needs of the world. I will be leaving for Buenos Aires on Sept. 5, and I only hope this extension from Pepperdine has an even more specific purpose. I want to return from Buenos Aires understanding a way of life that I will never know in the security and comfort of the United States.
I have never traveled out of the United States and it is definitely leaving my comfort zone. I am scared, nervous, anxious and excited all at once. I don’t want to leave my friends, boyfriend or family, but I know that this will change my life. Not many people are given this opportunity and I want to make the best of it.
BLAIR WARNER
Hong Kong Columnist
I was not someone who was interested in Pepperdine’s Asian programs when I first began to look at the overseas programs. However, I did my research, and gradually began leaning toward some of the university’s less common programs. There was not one thing in particular that changed my mind, but seeing the Great Wall and possibly traveling to Tibet definitely caught my attention. Maybe it was the impulsive side of me taking over, but instead of choosing to travel to Pepperdine’s classic European and South American locations, I am spending my fall semester in Hong Kong and my spring semester in Thailand. An area where eastern and western cultures collide, Hong Kong has a special diversity from anywhere else in the world. I am so incredibly excited to become an obvious minority for the first time in my life. This experience is going to challenging, but one that will be completely life-changing.
LAUREN JACK
Paris Columnist
Passport — check. Visa — check. Power plug adapter thing — check. I’m as ready to study abroad in Paris as I will ever be. Yet, despite my preparations, I know to expect a strong dose of culture shock and accompanying lifestyle changes in order to blend in. A Southern California native, it’s time to trade in Rainbow Sandals for real shoes, a car for the metro and Starbucks for le café. It is time to experience something new. While I may be leaving Pepperdine — a sense of belonging and familiarity — behind, I have 26 new friends to share in this adventure.
NICOLE KLIEST
London Columnist
As my year in London approaches I am filled with absolute euphoria. As fantastic as it has been this summer, working for money and living in a city where everything closes at 10 p.m., I have never felt so ready to explore a diverse and dissimilar world. I have had an increased awareness of the fact that my life is so close to dramatically changing. My anxiousness to find myself, learn and mature while overseas is overwhelming yet liberating. I can’t wait to dive into adventure, visiting places such as the Louvre, the Coliseum, European castles and perhaps even Johnny Depp.
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