This is the return essay I wrote to complete the requirements for a scholarship I received to study abroad.
A glimpse into my experience abroad
Studying abroad is
truly a life-changing experience. Everyone told me it would be, even before I
starting preparing to leave Bloomington, my hometown. I had traveled to Paris
with my family once during high school, but other than that I had never been
overseas or away from my hometown for more than just short-term vacations. I
had heard it so much that I would just nod and agree, I knew it would be different
and that I’m sure I would change. But I don’t think I realized how much I would
change until after it had already happened.
When I first arrived
in Aix-en-Provence, France, I was so excited to be in a foreign place and to
explore the beautiful city. I had been looking forward to studying abroad and improving
my French since I first started learning French in middle school. With such a
lovely town as Aix is, it was a dream come true. During the first few days of
orientation, I met everyone in the program, from both IU and Wisconsin
University. Even though none of us knew each other, I think we all formed a
sort of bond immediately because of the fact that we were all here and going
through the same new experiences, trying to communicate in a language we
thought we knew, living in a foreign country, adjusting to the cultural
differences and figuring out which bathrooms had toilet seats and/or toilet
paper. Thinking back now to what was probably a huge culture shock, I can’t
even remember how I felt or imagine those things, which have become so normal
to me, being so strange and different. I feel like the bigger shock will come
when I return home, leaving what has become my home for the past five months.
One thing I have
learned from studying abroad is that the best way to get to know someone is by traveling
with them. I was fortunate enough to travel around southern France and to
Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Belgium, and England during the semester,
and the people I traveled with became close friends. I have learned this
semester that shared experiences are what make a friendship so strong. No one
can truly understand your experiences if they weren’t there with you. That’s
one thing about returning home that I think will be very difficult, because
even if I tell stories about things that happened, my friends and family at
home won’t know exactly what I’m talking about because they weren’t there. But
I am confident that the friends I have made here will remain good friends
because we have been through this experience together and we will always have
our memories from our time abroad.
Study abroad can also
push you to your limits and make you do things you never thought you might do. For
example, I climbed a mountain. It’s not that I didn’t think I would ever do it,
it’s just that the thought never crossed my mind before as something I wanted
to achieve in my life. Before coming here, I was told that one thing to do in
Aix is climb Mont Sainte-Victoire, the mountain that was a common subject of
Cezanne, a painter from Aix. In my mind, I thought it would be more like a hike
in the hills, but the path that a few friends and I found was extremely
challenging. It wasn’t the straight-up mountain climbing path that requires
climbing gear, but it was the next step down. We hiked up very steep paths that
seemed to go on and up forever, and after about three hours we made it to the
top. Looking down on Aix and the surrounding cities was so breathtaking and
peaceful. Every time I see the mountain in the distance, I can’t help but think
about how I was at the top of it looking down and how much of an accomplishment
that was.
After
traveling around the region of Provence and seeing so many unimaginably
beautiful places, I feel I have an even greater appreciation for nature and the
beauty in traveling. This region has become my home and I am not yet ready to
leave, but I hope to return someday. I have gained a new perspective on
traveling as well and have a yearning to see the world. Only as the semester
ended and my friends left Aix did I begin to realize how much I have changed,
although I still can’t quite comprehend it all. I think I will be able to see
more differences in myself after I am back home, but it is also an ongoing
process. I am sure that I will always continue to understand and realize the
huge impact this experience has had on my life and on who I am today and who I
will become.
