Madagascar

Anyway, just because I'm not going to major in zoology doesn't mean I can't practice it at least a little before I graduate.

My AP Bio teacher in high school would, one day a year, show us slides from her study abroad trip to Africa in college. She always says that studying abroad in college is really important because you're never going to have the chance again. You'll have a family or a dog and a job and responsibilities that will prevent you from living a dream while your young, so you might as well do it now.

Because she's right and the Kratt brothers are both married and too old for me anyway, I've decided I'm going to go to Madagascar within the next couple of years. I found a study abroad program in Madagascar that has biology courses, biology courses taught in French, French courses, and introductory Malagasy courses as well as an independent study project, like observing lemurs. This is perfect for me. I have, and I am not exaggerating here, been fascinated with Madagascar's biodiversity since I was 5 years old. I have been taking French lessons since I was 6.*

The only problem is I'm pretty sure my university won't accept many, if any, of the credits. Plus 9 credits of study abroad are required for a French minor which is what I want to have. But even if I have to take spring and summer semesters and not have leftover money for grad school, I'm going to do it. Because this perfect an opportunity will not be available to me again.

*OK, back, that one's not as impressive as it sounds. My understanding of English grammar wasn't very complete at that age, so my French didn't progress much in that area either. Also, while my French teacher was a native, she wasn't a very rigorous teacher and most of our lessons involved learning the names of various animals she had stickers of and eating French candy. So my accent and intonation is fantastic, but my grammar and vocab is pretty much on par with your average French student. I do think I'm the only one who would much rather give a presentation in French than write an essay.