In a matter of thirty-one days, I have graduated from The University of Alabama, will travel to Serbia and teach high schoolers about American Music and its relevance in America today and then I end up in San Mateo, California to start my career in Third Party Marketing for PlayStation. It’s safe to say that I’m stressed but I’m happily stressed because of this amazing opportunity was given to me by the Serbia Fellowship Committee. So the question is what made you study abroad in Serbia?
Well to answer that first I’ve always had a love for travel, from going to Italy in high school I knew I wanted to return to Europe and I knew that Education was the best way to go at it. During my first three years at the Capstone, my parents couldn’t afford to send me abroad for two weeks so I’ve saved up and told myself before becoming a true adult you must go back to Europe! I was approached by Joshua Phillips and he told me of the Serbia Fellowship Experience and how affordable and rewarding the trip would be. Since then I knew I wanted to be apart of the next delegation to travel to Serbia, so I applied and told my story of wanting to use this study aboard to create new perspectives and open up stories in my head so I can create and learn so many unique and amazing things from this trip. I saved my money from my internship the previous summer and applied for the study aboard grant to make it happen and when I got the email that I was awarded not only the money but the chance to share my experience on the blog I knew this was the trip I wanted to go on before I take on the gaming industry.
So Anthony how do you prep for going abroad? Well, I surrounded myself with my family and made sure that I spent time with them and explained the entire trip. Then I went and started finding some new clothes to fit the Serbian weather and to look good, like my best friend Alex always says, “I didn’t teach you to dress and not look good”. So after you collect your clothing, I remembered to pack light and always have a converter for my Phone and anything else electronic I would bring. Then after that, I made sure to double check everything and then I make my travel playlist on the Saturday morning before I fly out so I’m always listening to something.
Anthony? Yeah? What’s going through your mind during this experience? Well, of course, I’m thinking about my parents and friends at home but also just trying to absorb and see everything I can in the time I’m in such a new country. Are you excited? Yeah! I’m definitely excited, but I’m nervous about what is going to happen in Serbia because you just never know what you’re going to see, who you are going to meet, etc. With all of these emotions running around in my head the way I stay grounded is talking to my friend who is also traveling with us in the delegation and to see that I have someone sharing the same feelings as I am relaxing and helps with the build-up to the travel.
Lastly Anthony what do you hope to learn from your experience? I want to learn a history of a lesser known culture to me. I want to know how Serbia works and how the people go about their lives and how the current world news affects them and how does it feel to be an outsider in such a situation. I would love to get a velvet tracksuit and take a picture squatting somewhere I think that would be cool. Also, I’m just interested in seeing all the history Serbia has to offer.
Well, I think that is all for the first post! Talk to you guys soon in Serbia! Also here is me smiling through the stress of graduation!
