Why do we study abroad?

In high school, a close friend of mine asked me what the point of  traveling was. "The only thing that is different is the weather and the buildings," he would say.  I looked at him with a horrified expression on my face.  I never suspected that people felt--or didn't feel-- that way about traveling.

Now, five years later, sitting in Pittsburgh International Airport waiting for my connecting flight to Washington DC, that question still haunts me.

Before I could even leave my hometown of Pittsburgh, my flight was cancelled, and rescheduled for two days later. (My new flight was delayed by two hours as well).  As any business major knows, five minutes early is on time, and on time is late. In my everyday, non-traveling life, I have full control of my tight schedule;  I pride myself on being on time. Yet, "on the road" I can't control if my plane is cancelled or my train is delayed.  And I will learn to live with that, and become more understanding.

I am looking forward to being immersed in a culture other than the two I grew up in. Not knowing customs and traditions, I hope to learn, and share them with my peers when I get back home. Although terrified, I am looking forward to being surrounded by people who's language I do not understand. I know that I will say embarrassing things, and get looks from strangers when I mispronounce every word I try to say in German, yet, I am still looking forward to that. 

People go abroad to "grow up." While I will come back a year older (I'll turn 20 in Europe!), and with more stamps in my passport, I hope to still be a little bit naive, even if just a sliver of foolishness remains inside of me. Everybody says being naive is bad, and that studying abroad changes you, but I really hope that in August, I will still trust that people are genuinely good. My parents spent the weeks leading up to this moment warning me about dangerous strangers and reminding me of good safety measures (which I will always have in the back of my mind), but my excitement and desire for adventure overshadows the potential dangers that are in the world. 

I am sitting in the airport headed  for Europe, without a definite place to live. I'm not entirely sure what places I want to visit, or how I will get there. People go abroad looking for an adventure, and what better way to have one than to start it with almost complete uncertainty?