A new year

A new year! Thank goodness! The summer is a great time to earn money and relax and whatnot, but there’s nothing quite the same as another year here. Personally, I’m always ready to be back at it when summer finally comes to its end. My name is Jocelyn Wilkinson. I’m a junior communication arts and history major from San Antonio, Texas. This is technically my second year blogging but due to my less than spectacular track record last year, I consider this my first. I am going to do my best to not do what I did last year, which was nothing.Blogging for me this semester will be a little different than my fellow bloggers because I will be studying abroad in Athens, Greece this semester! Needless to say, I’m super excited. I really hope to be able to shed some light on the wonders of study abroad, especially seeing as it’s something that can often be overlooked here at Bethel. But I plan on changing that, so have no fear! =) (Yes, I use emoticons.) In addition to this blog, I will also be sharing posts from my personal blog, so that you can get both the academic and social feel for a semester abroad because both aspects are important.I will be going to Greece through the program Brethren Colleges Abroad (BCA), which is one of the many programs that Bethel has worked with in the past. My friend and fellow Thresher Annika will also be going to Athens, so Bethel will be well represented; we’re 2 of the 9 students from across the country studying in Athens this semester. While I’m in Greece, I’ll be taking a full course load–Greek language, Greek history and culture, business, and astronomy classes–as well as seeing the sights, possibly volunteering (a common BCA student activity), and many other things that I don’t have the ability to predict. God willing, I’ll also get the chance to go see my friend Natalie, also a Bethel student, who is studying in Belgium for the semester.As you can see, there are lots of things that I’m looking forward to for the semester and that I will hopefully get to share with you. I don’t leave the states till September 16, so there’s still some time before the juicy stuff, but this way I can also share all the preparation that goes into study abroad! And there is a lot of prep. Until next time!