Obama Inauguration Day with my friend, CNN

Being the historic year in which we have elected our first African-American as president, I have to say that it's a bit difficult watching it from overseas. It feels weird to be so connected yet disconnected at the same time.

I'm less connected because I don't get to hear about the excitement or feel it the same way I hear that it exists in the US. I get to hear about Obama parties and people's excitement as if it were a story from far far away.

I'm away from home, and that's that. Voting means walking into a high security embassy to cast your mail-in vote, after having waited in line with others who are there for any embassy/consulate-related reason. No "I voted" stickers. No walking into a school or a library. No voting booths that make it a little bit more private.

BUT...

I'm more connected than I normally would be in my own country because I was forced to investigate even more about each election candidate's plan and views. I didn't receive marketing information about each candidate. I didn't see biased commercials on TV. I attacked my decisions like any student would do....by reading and comparing each plan available online, and evaluating it based on my personal opinion for each subject.

I'm more connected because in Europe (and most non-US countries), they understand how much the US economy and policies affect their well-being. The world was looking for change, not just the US.

And finally - I'm more connected thanks to CNN.com Live. I was able to watch both the elections and the inauguration with the help of this technology. Not only that, they have enabled me to see what friends of mine were online and watching CNN live as well. It's amazing what technology can do to keep people connected.