One Year On

The time has really flown by. 

This week marked a year since I moved to the United States to study. This time a year ago I was fighting jetlag and the Dallas heat, and trying to arrange moving into an apartment. It was an exciting time, but a nervous one, as I didn’t know how this experience was going to pan out. I kept telling myself that it was an adventure. 

The good news is that it still is an adventure.

To be honest, it has panned out well. It has been a lot of hard work and late nights, but I’ve learned so much about business, about the arts, and about myself. All the effort has been worth it so far. Getting to study at a top business school and to get work experience with some of the top arts organisations in the world has been fantastic. Even on the tough days, when I’ve sat back and taken things into perspective it’s still been worth the effort and the risk.

That said, none of it would have been possible without all the support and help of my family and my friends from home who have been so supportive of the whole thing from the start. Thanks also need to go to all of my new friends in the U.S.A. who have helped me settle into the country and kept me on track throughout the year. You have all been amazing. Or, as they say in Texas, "Y'all have been amazing". That state is definitely growing on me.

To celebrate the anniversary, one of my fellow interns and I went out for dinner on Thursday for a D.C. experience, an Original Half-Smoke and Cheese Fries at Ben’s Chili Bowl. The place is legendary, and quite possibly the most famous hot-dog restaurant in the world, with photos of world leaders and celebrities adorning the walls. A mural on the side of the building commemorates their most famous regular customer, Bill Cosby. The place is bright, bustling and cheerful – truly American.

To be honest though, I nearly forgot the anniversary outright, as I was too busy looking ahead to the future. This week also marked a month before I leave the U.S. for the rest of the year. As part of the MA/MBA program at SMU we undertake a semester on exchange at Bocconi University in Milan, and our group is busy planning our arrival before classes start in September. The plane tickets are booked, the apartment is waiting, and the intensive courses in Italian start not long after we arrive (because Duolingo can only do so much).

So here’s to one year in the country. And here’s to the adventure to come...

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