Hitting the Ground Running

Hi folks! Firstly, welcome to my study abroad blog. I've never done a blog or journal of any kind before so this will be a neat experience. I'm currently sitting in my home in rural Arkansas in the southern foothills of the Ozark Mountain Plateau. Our farm is completely covered in yellow buttercup flowers and the air outside is so crisp and refreshing! It is such a nice transition to come from the hellish conditions of finals week to this little Arkansan paradise.
This peace, however, will be very short-lived. Today's to-do list still includes, unpacking, laundry, re-packing, great uncle's birthday party, and the annual "school's out" pick-up basketball game my high school buds always play; all of this while anxiously awaiting my Cal III final grade.

But alas! Adventure awaits! Tomorrow as the sun rises over the Boston Mountains I'll be embarking on this grand academic endeavor. Funny thing about this trip: I didn't even really plan on it, I was planning on going to Grenada to do the Hemingway thing for the summer, but then realized that I should be doing something proactive towards my field of study. So, I talked to the study abroad office about this trip, hoping that they could maybe make my summer less boring. And one morning this spring I woke up to an e-mail that basically said, "you have one day to decide, apply, and commit." This was convenient as I often find that split-decisions are easier for me than those pesky long-term ones. So here I am, on a nearly accidental voyage to a foreign land to further my study of the planet.
This study abroad, it turns out, is perfect. I can't really remember a time in my life when I didn't know about and understand the looming perils of climate change. It is my goal to mitigate this issue and the culture that facilitates it.
It is well known that America is far behind Europe in sustainable energy and food production. So it will be great to study the groundbreaking science that is being pursued in the Eurozone. Sure, this stuff will directly affect my field of study, but there are still some questions in comparing the U.S. to Europe that really irk me. Like, why, as the richest country on earth, are we not pursuing these same goals regarding renewable energy and consumption? Is it just ingrained in our culture to be ignorant of these things? Or is it our blind, complacent love of capitalism that prevents any progress? I have only ever been to one other nation, Iceland, and the comparison in governmental policy between the U.S. and that perfect socialized island utopia sickened me. It just seems that European policy makers and people in general exhibit a level of care for the planet and for humanity's existence that is well above ours. So, while the scientific side of this trip are sure to be astounding, I reckon that my true focus will gravitate towards international policy comparison.
Curiosity is a force that is most compelling to me. And so I will be adding closing segments to these blog posts that deal with the random curiosities I'm faced with while abroad and hopefully some answers or insight I will have acquired into them. My current curiosities are regarding cuisine: I really want to nom on some Fries and Mayo. Hopefully I will be able to tell about this culinary phenomenon in my next blog post!
Okay, I still need to pack so vaarwell for now!