Independent solo travel is a big deal; it's scary and challenging, but also fun and life-changing. As you guys know, I traveled far away to Wisconsin for college. Even then, I still wasn't alone as I was going with students (through the Posse Foundation) that were to act as my support system for the four years. As I was raised as an only child by a justifiably overprotective Mami, I am grateful that I have been able to go away for college because it has been a formative experience that helped me grow and learn about myself in ways that I wouldn't have been able to do at home.
Austria has had the same effect on me. It seems unreal to be able to say that I was in a whole different country, where everything around me was in this unfamiliar language, and that I stayed there for three months! In Vienna, I rode public transportation all alone, as I would in New York, feeling confident that I knew where to go. In Vienna, I perfected my cooking, making arroz con habichuelas and pesto pasta for most dinners. In Vienna, I learned to sleep by myself for the first time in my life and found out that not only did I enjoy having a single room, but that it wasn't half as scary as I was chalking it up to be. In Vienna, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and made lifelong friends.
