“Wait here for a second, I want to check this out” …” Your hair looks so good!” …” He’s so cute” …so cute…so cute…cute…cute…shopping…shopping…ladies…girls! Being the only guy on a twelve-week study abroad trip with 18 girls has been interesting to say the least. Historically, there has only been one other guy alone with so many women that finished the program. The rest just couldn’t make it, and as much as it pains me to say, I get it. Living and traveling with the opposite sex is always difficult, but this is a little excessive. There have been times that it has been very lonely and it seems like some people have no empathy to how it feels to be so outside of a comfort zone. More often than I liked, I would rather sit in my room than watch the 14th chick flick that they have blaring on the TV. Often times when we are out on a field trip or walking through a city in a group, I just wander off due to the fact that some of the ladies had to talk about how cute a Swiss guard is or because the shoes in the store were just too cute to walk away from. But, there have also been times when we all get along as great as 19 20- somethings can get along and I fit in so perfectly. But I have learned from all of this that it is easier to get to know the individual person than assuming the whole group is more or less the same. On several occasions, going to dinner with one or two of the girls proved to be the best way to unwind after a long day or to really get to know someone. Of course, I could have used some more testosterone around the palace, but going to the places we have and seeing the sights I have seen have made every bit of this trip a life experience I hope I never forget. Apart from learning how to live as a foreigner in a new culture, I have learned how to live like one of the girls.
Will Bush

We’re wandering the streets of Rome and I decide to wander away from the group.