What?
This summer I spent 12 weeks abroad. I spent the first two weeks with my mom and my best friend, eight weeks taking classes in Nantes, France and Brussels, Belgium, then ended by traveling the last two weeks on my own. My solo adventure began when I arrived in Nantes, France where my host family was waiting to pick me up. Luckily Erin, a fellow UC student who was my roommate this summer, was with there for all the moments with Marie and Daniel. Throughout my stay with them, they were engaged in conversation, taught us French phrases, and helped me fix my broken tooth. None of the UC students in the program knew each other before this trip, but we had an unspoken understanding that we would be spending a lot of time together the next eight weeks. As a way to jumpstart bonding, I suggested we take a weekend trip together to Bordeaux. The gang was on board, and we created some great memories from our first few days together. The next few weeks, I met some amazing people from France, India, Sweden, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and good ‘ole Bowling Green, Ohio. Having conversations with people from different cultures and backgrounds, especially more extreme than I’m used to, is so eye opening. We compared education systems and our definitions of a home cooked meal. We argued which sport is the real football (it all depends on the spelling in my opinion). We shared the best local spots to visit in various cities and had opinions on what cities were even better to spend time in. These people not only shaped the itinerary of my trip but also the way I viewed each city I was in.
So What?
Reflection is certainly important after an experience, but this summer I really learned the value of reflection in the moment. I started to keep a daily journal of what I did and funny little things that happened that I knew I wouldn’t want to forget. I don’t have the best follow through record with those sort of things but the month of May was a great opportunity to begin the routine of truly thinking about what happened each day, how I grew from it, and who was affected because of it. Each morning, I was able to take the small goals of yesterday to shape the small goals of today. This goes along with my definition of a Global Citizen Scholar which is remembering that the little things in life can have just as big of an impact as the big accomplishments. I was proud of myself for putting forth a conscience effort to learn each day, from the people I interacted with to the situations I was faced with.
Now What?
Here's some wisdom I gained throughout my trip that can be applied to almost anything I do in the future. I learned to follow my passions and not to let negative energy stop me along the way. I learned that no matter how alone you feel at times, there are always people in your life that are supporting you. And I learned that I can’t sit still in one place. My travel bug is stronger than ever, and it’s driven by my eagerness to learn. Whether I’m curious about cultures or how people live or even how they find happiness, there’s always something to learn. If there’s only one thing I took away from these past twelve weeks, it’s that I never want to stop learning.
This summer I spent 12 weeks abroad. I spent the first two weeks with my mom and my best friend, eight weeks taking classes in Nantes, France and Brussels, Belgium, then ended by traveling the last two weeks on my own. My solo adventure began when I arrived in Nantes, France where my host family was waiting to pick me up. Luckily Erin, a fellow UC student who was my roommate this summer, was with there for all the moments with Marie and Daniel. Throughout my stay with them, they were engaged in conversation, taught us French phrases, and helped me fix my broken tooth. None of the UC students in the program knew each other before this trip, but we had an unspoken understanding that we would be spending a lot of time together the next eight weeks. As a way to jumpstart bonding, I suggested we take a weekend trip together to Bordeaux. The gang was on board, and we created some great memories from our first few days together. The next few weeks, I met some amazing people from France, India, Sweden, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and good ‘ole Bowling Green, Ohio. Having conversations with people from different cultures and backgrounds, especially more extreme than I’m used to, is so eye opening. We compared education systems and our definitions of a home cooked meal. We argued which sport is the real football (it all depends on the spelling in my opinion). We shared the best local spots to visit in various cities and had opinions on what cities were even better to spend time in. These people not only shaped the itinerary of my trip but also the way I viewed each city I was in.
So What?
Reflection is certainly important after an experience, but this summer I really learned the value of reflection in the moment. I started to keep a daily journal of what I did and funny little things that happened that I knew I wouldn’t want to forget. I don’t have the best follow through record with those sort of things but the month of May was a great opportunity to begin the routine of truly thinking about what happened each day, how I grew from it, and who was affected because of it. Each morning, I was able to take the small goals of yesterday to shape the small goals of today. This goes along with my definition of a Global Citizen Scholar which is remembering that the little things in life can have just as big of an impact as the big accomplishments. I was proud of myself for putting forth a conscience effort to learn each day, from the people I interacted with to the situations I was faced with.
Now What?
Here's some wisdom I gained throughout my trip that can be applied to almost anything I do in the future. I learned to follow my passions and not to let negative energy stop me along the way. I learned that no matter how alone you feel at times, there are always people in your life that are supporting you. And I learned that I can’t sit still in one place. My travel bug is stronger than ever, and it’s driven by my eagerness to learn. Whether I’m curious about cultures or how people live or even how they find happiness, there’s always something to learn. If there’s only one thing I took away from these past twelve weeks, it’s that I never want to stop learning.