The Best Parts About Studying Abroad
Now that it’s been officially a year since I arrived in small, charming, Aix-en-Provence, France for four months of learning, I think I’ve processed enough to write this piece.
The woman I left in France was one nothing like the girl I know in the middle of Michigan. She woke up early to spend the day wandering, reading in open parks. She was a woman of solace and thirst for the world around her. She explored corners of the maze of a city, and dark shadows of herself. This experience was incredible for my independence and self-discovery.
Living with a family who doesn’t know my native language was a challenge and a process of growth. Communication tactics were tested, and I was pushed into zones of discomfort. This ultimately led to me becoming more flexible and better at “going with the flow.” I also advanced in my French language skills exponentially.
In those months, I had the opportunity to exist in new places, on new levels. Traveling was made so easy since other countries were pretty much right in my backdoor. Not only other countries but other cities full of history and art and life. Traveling even just for day trips opened my eyes to the crazy reality that there is so much to this world.
Whether you are studying a language or not, the study abroad affair is one that can change the way you conduct your day to day life (generally for the better). It is one of seeing new places and meeting exotic people, and if I took anything out of it, it’s that there is so much of this big world that I’ve yet to discover, and I want to experience it all.