I am currently studying abroad in Valencia, Spain with The Rotunda's Foreign Cor respondent, Jamie Clift. I'm a Spanish major and decided to do my study abroad program this year in hopes of improving my fluency for future classes. We've been here for a month now, and we're beginning to adjust nicely. It was tough the first week dealing with homesickness, especially since our host apartment doesn't have Internet.
As the title mentions, there are 4,084 miles be tween Valencia and Farmville. And while there are many people I miss at Longwood, there is one person in particular I miss the most — my boyfriend.
I've been told over and over that it's better to study abroad without a significant other — they only hold you back. Jamie seems to agree with this philosophy. However, I think it all depends on A) the couple and B) the available communi cation technology.
Jamie mentioned in her column for this week that there is one girl in our group of American students that seems to be stuck spending her weekend afternoons in Starbucks talking to her boyfriend. I don't think I'm quite as bad.
So far, I have stayed up all night to watch the Super Bowl, watched a late-night flamenco performance at a cozy café, gone to the largest aquarium in Europe and explored the vast ma jority of the city with Jamie. I am able to do these things because I don't spend my weekends looking for the closest Wi-Fi connection. Correspondence with my boyfriend is limited to the times the internet lounge is open during normal school days.
My boyfriend sends me a quick email every night before he goes to bed because when I check messages here at 9 a.m., it is 3 a.m. at Longwood. I send a response every morning, just to let him know I'm still alive and maybe a tidbit or two about my previous day. We Skype Mondays and Wednesdays for two hours before his lunchtime while Jamie attends her evening classes. So far, it seems to be a good system. He's not much of a talker, so two Skype dates a week is plenty.
Having my Internet time limited to four days a week and no cell phone is very liberating. I am able to go on spontaneous adventures every weekend without distractions. It upsets me that I can't share my experiences with my loved ones at that very moment, but I have to remember that although they cannot be with me, they want me to have the best possible experience.
Every once in a while, I send my boyfriend a postcard or a letter in the mail. I planned ahead and prepared his Valentine's Day gift before I left for Spain and left my mom in charge of sending it to him. It's our first Valentine's Day as a couple, and we're spending it apart.
However, what I think may be even worse is that March is our one-year anniversary. But I don't think I'll be spending Valentine's Day or our anniversary in total misery. In the grand scheme of life they are just two ordinary days. What matters most is we're still together and care for each other just as much as we did a year ago.
I'm glad I have Jamie here to keep me ground ed and a wonderful boyfriend waiting at home who understands the importance of this once in a lifetime experience.
*** This editorial is an opinion stated by the writer and does not represent the views
