Sounds like I’m not the only one with a quarter system kid. Excited to have her for another few weeks, but we moved states after her hs graduation so our new hometown is socially super boring for her, unfortunately. The sibling has his own life and me and H work all day. But when she leaves I’ll be lonely for sure!
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Just dropped D22 off at the airport. She is headed to Madrid for the semester. I’m so excited for her but also anxious about how it will all go. Looking forward to visiting her at the end of October!
We dropped off D24 at college last weekend so we are now empty nesters. It’s going to be a tough adjustment but H and I have several trips planned and also are figuring out where we want to move now that the girls are out of high school. Wishing all our 2022 kids a terrific Junior year!
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May I ask you how your D22 found housing in Madrid? My D22 is considering Madrid for the semester abroad in the spring but her college doesn’t provide housing.
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She’s staying with a host family arranged by her school (Saint Louis University- Madrid campus). Many students decide to live independently though through either a place called Marli House or El Faro. Those are not arranged through the school so Marcia nervous in case anything went wrong. However, it looks like most students who go that route are happy with their choice.
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Thanks a lot!
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S22 is back in the swing of things at NYU after his ad-agency internship, and he just learned that he’ll be studying in Prague for spring semester. Exciting! Though we lived in London and Geneva for grades four through nine for him, we never made it to the Czech Republic. Should be a great experience.
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Neat! What kind of work did he do at the ad-agency? Mine interned at an ad-agency in LA and learned a ton about all the steps from meeting clients to doing pitches. Very exciting that your son will be studying abroad this year. I bet Prague will be so interesting. Can’t wait to hear about every one’s experiences. Mine is currently in Japan studying global studies for the full year.
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He was in the production department mainly, so learning about that side of making ads. He was at a venerable agency from the Mad Men era, but he said it’s now in a bit of disarray — some of the full-time adult staff were complaining to the interns, even. Still, he was glad overall that he did it.
Best of luck to your son in Japan!
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My D22 returned to the UK yesterday. Unlike her first two college send offs – when she was going to be only one hour away by train – this year’s send off felt much sadder because we’re now 6,000 miles apart. But it was nice to have spent some time together during her month-long stay in Japan this summer.
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Hope your S22 is settling in well at Keio. Unfortunately, it is still quite hot here - 35C/95F in Tokyo today!
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D22 just got approved for her first choice study abroad program for the spring, Geneva, Switzerland. Now she is getting cold feet though! Deposit is due in 10 days, so she will have to make a decision rather quickly.
She had planned to go abroad in the spring for a long time, so if she decides to stay she would have to find new housing, as her room will be taken by a returning from abroad friend. She shares an off campus apartment with good friends, so leaving that group to find new housing with other people would be tough. Also, if she stays, she would graduate in Dec. 2025 (I’m not a fan of early graduation as she is young for her class anyway). Even though she is pursuing a double degree, she is far ahead.
I’m not even sure how to advise her, as her reasons for hesitating are valid (I did two study abroad stints myself back in the days, one was amazing, one was not a good experience. So I know both sides and I know the attitude with which you approach study abroad matters a lot for success). She is seeing a counselor, so I asked her to discuss this with them.
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How did your son like his summer in LA? My D loved her two months there and can see herself moving there after college 
My family and I lived in Geneva for two years (D19 finished high school there, S22 did eighth and ninth grades). It is, to be fair, not the world’s most vibrant or energetic city, and it’s expensive. But there’s a lively student population and it’s nicely located for getting to more interesting places. Fairly quick train rides to Paris and Milan, an hour’s drive to the French and Italian Alps, easy flights to anywhere in Europe. Best of luck to your daughter in making her decision!
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D22 will be studying in Sorrento, Italy next semester. Hoping to visit! My son studied in Rwanda, which was too far to visit.
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So many big decisions for our kids right now. My S22 had major cold feet as well and expressed regret for choosing to study abroad for a full year. His program in Japan started a few weeks after his university did so he could see all his friends back on campus and doing fun things. But since it was too late by then to switch, he went off to Japan. He still really misses his friends but has met a couple of other international students to explore with and said he knows this stage in life is supposed to be “character building” and that right now he’s doing a lot of that. 
Hope your daughter comes to a decision that makes her happy! Good luck! 
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My son liked LA much more than he expected (said he didn’t mind the traffic or long drive to/from work and enjoyed weekends on the beaches with his friends ) but he still hopes to end up in NYC after graduation. Glad your daughter liked LA!
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Funny, he hasn’t mentioned the heat at all! He just said he was happy he had time to figure out the train system before classes started because he found it quite confusing at first. He’s been exploring the city on his own and with a couple of new friends. And he said already his Japanese comprehension has improved quite a bit.
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Deposit is paid, D22 is going to Geneva after all.
Geneva strikes me as a good place to live as a family but I agree, not the most happening college student city. She is excited about the program though (small cohort program with 30 participants) and I’m excited for her. Good friends of hers will be in France and Spain, so I’m sure they will meet up. And her grandparents live in Germany, so she might get visitors as well.
Is everybody planning to visit their kids abroad? I don’t think we can, as we still have S26 who doesn’t have a convenient or long enough break from school.
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S22 found out yesterday he’s spending the second semester in London. He’s thrilled. We all felt it would happen but it was still nice to know for sure he was accepted.
DH, S24 and I will visit London over S24’s spring break. Can’t wait!
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