I normally head down to my hometown of Cairo, Georgia for the first weekend of spring break and work a few days on my family’s farm in order to make a little extra cash before I head down to Mexico Beach, Florida the following monday with a group of friends. I get the same old pre-spring break lecture from my dad that I’ve gotten since my freshman year of high school, “have fun, but stay out of trouble and remember where you come from… etc.” After the lecture I’m burning tires and headed straight to the beach with a truck full of friends ready to soak up some sun and spend countless hours in the sand throwing the frisbee and enjoying whatever music we have playing on the radio.

This year is going to be completely different. Instead of heading down to Mexico Beach I’ll be catching a flight to Uruguay. This year the pre-spring break speech isn’t quite the same, my dad usually puts a lot of emphasis on staying out of trouble and not doing anything stupid. This year the speech is more focused on me enjoying my time studying abroad but also being aware that if I get in a tight spot my parents aren’t three hours away to help me out. I’m really looking forward to the trip because I’ve done the same thing for spring break for the past five years or so and as much as I love the white sandy shores of Florida I can’t wait to see what Uruguay has to offer!