I never knew how fast time could fly until I studied
abroad. As I sit here on the plane on my
way back to America, I keep wondering “Where in the world did the time
go?” It feels as though I just hopped on
the plane to get to Europe a couple of weeks ago! Although my time in Europe
seemed too short, there is not a single thing I would have changed about my
entire experience. Every experience,
good or bad, has helped me grow more than I could have ever imagined. I look
back at the beginning of this journey, and I cannot believe how different I was
when I started. Having never been
overseas before, I feel like I gained so much priceless knowledge about
different cultures. It is easy to think the world revolves around the country
you grew up in, because you do not know anything other than that country. It’s so incredible and humbling to be able to
immerse yourself into another part of the world and realize how vast this
planet really is. Seeing new places is great, but I will say that it is
definitely the people you meet along the way who make the travel so worth
it. We took four different types of
classes abroad, but the best forms of knowledge that I gained from this
experience was when I was outside of the classroom. Whether I was visiting a new country for the
first time, trying to find my way through a train station, talking to a local
about their favorite foods or anything in between, I was gaining forms of
knowledge that I could have never gotten from a textbook. Between the travel and the people, you learn
to find out who you really are also. How
much patience do you really have? How
smart do you actually think you are? Are
you appreciative of your own culture and the things you have? These are just a
few questions I gained answers to through my experience studying abroad. I
already miss the feeling of being in a new place every week, and discovering
what each country had to offer. Living
in a foreign place and getting out of my comfort zone was the best decision I
have made thus far in my life, and I am so incredibly thankful for my
supportive parents, amazing friends, and UNK for helping this dream of mine
become a reality.
12 countries in 12 weeks
Here is a recap of all the countries I was able to visit in
my time spent abroad:
·
Czech Republic
·
France
·
England
·
Germany
·
Poland
·
Ireland
·
Austria
·
Italy
·
Vatican City (yes, it is its own country)
·
Hungary
·
Slovakia
·
Netherlands
 |
| Thanks for the memories, Europe! Time to get back to America! |
