Well, it's July, and I've been back in God's country now for 2 months or so and somehow I've never gotten around to writing a fitting conclusion to this chapter of the blog. Perhaps I was awaiting some sort of divine inspiration, but I realize today as I'm sitting in my PJ's, enjoying Funemployment, that it's about time to quit with excuses.
Back in 2005 I was grappling with the decision of either venturing down to Berkeley for my Masters, or staying close to home. At this point, neither school had offered me any funding. I went down to the Bay Area, waiting to be wowed. Walking around campus I found myself often saying: "It's pretty ... but not as pretty as UW. The library is impressive, but it doesn't take your breath away like Suzzallo. The weather is kinda blustery and gray and gross ... but not as gray and gross as UW." The clincher however was when I met with the faculty and advisers at Berkeley I asked them about study abroad opportunities. My question was mostly greeted with blank and confused stares.
In the end, the allure of the Valle program, proved to be too strong. And I ironically decided to stay at UW so that I could leave the Pacific NW. It was a bit of a gamble, but with undoubtedly a bit of luck and a hell of a lot of hard work, it all paid off.
My year abroad in Lund turned out to be an excellent experience, and I am so thankful on many levels that I got a chance to study in a small town and meet numerous wonderful people. Some people are bit players who had but a small cameo in Blake's life, while others I know will be friends for the rest of my life.In retrospect it's hard to imagine that I would have thought that this experience would have been adequate to get my "living abroad" experience crossed off the list. Lund way great, and beautiful, but it is to Sweden perhaps what Pullman is to the State of Washington. Ultimately I was incredibly fortunate that Courtney also had the opportunity to come out and study in Stockholm. This provided me with more than enough impetus to continue the adventure a little longer.
When it came to Stockholm, Courtney and I instantly fell in love with the city. We managed to be enchanted even during a dark and cold trip as tourists back when I was still in Lund. The beauty of the architecture, the green space, the vibe of the restaurants and pubs, and eventually the wonderful people we met along the way.
The next year and a half or so turned out to not only allow me to continue to learn and grow, but it also provided me with the opportunity to round out the experience. Courtney and I both had the chance to live in Southern Sweden, as well as to live in Sweden's beautiful capital. We explored a hefty chunk of the country from end to end and experienced many of the fun and different (translation: pagan) holidays.
Through it all we both had the opportunity to travel. From Western Europe, a few spots in the old Eastern Bloc, to the Middle East and even the exotic locations of Spokane and Detroit, we saw a hefty chunk of the world.
My time abroad may not have made me take great strides in my career, and I certainly have to do a lot of explaining in my interviews of late, but as many of my former colleagues at MKA said: "You have the rest of your life to work and make money." So while I may be 27 (for another 3 weeks), and have no savings, no P.E. license, and somewhat of a shortage of professional experience, I know what I gained abroad was priceless.As for the blog, it's hard to know what will become of it now. I've been up to all sorts of schenanigans in my Funemployment time thus far, but it's kind of nice not having the chore of writing about it all the time. However, perhaps going forward I'll find a new theme and a new reason to write nonsense to nobody in particular.
So with all that pretentiousness out of the way, if you'll excuse me, I better get back to playing video games, drinking beer, or more realistically ... doing chores. Wooo, the fun never stops!
Signing off,
-Blake
