Having little traces of home while abroad has been a great blessing to remind me there’s a whole other side of the world that awaits me when I get back. For me, some of that has come through seeing some dear friends from home. Throughout my time abroad, I have been lucky enough to have seen two of my closest friends from home and boy was it a treat! Something about being in another part of the world with some of your best friends makes your experience abroad that much more special.
From Holland to Paris.
My first meet-up was in Paris with a friend who is studying abroad in Germany. As it had been since August since we had last seen each other, we had a lot to catch up on and swap stories. It was interesting to hear what her life has been like in the past couple of months since she has been abroad. It became quickly apparent that even though both of us are not on campus for this semester, our experiences have been quite different and unique to the location of where we are studying abroad. This just goes to show that there is no one “right” way of studying abroad. Each experience will be different and unique to the individual and the location of where they chose to study. I think this is a really special aspect of studying abroad for which you are guaranteed an experience that is tailored to your interests and desires of what you want to get out of your abroad experience. Thank you dear Vanessa for a refreshing getaway and the best 72 hours in the city of lights!
Making our rounds of all that Paris has to offer, the Louvre was of course on the list!
From Holland to London.
Lastly, another friend from home made the trek over to London for a week! It was fun swapping the roles of showing her around and where she got to be the tourist. During this time, I quickly realized how comfortable I was with the city and how well my classes have taught me about the rich history. The city of London is big enough as well to do things where you have never been to or seen before, so a lot of the areas my friend and I visited were new to both of us. As the week she was here flew by faster than any other week I’ve had here, I was filled with immense gratitude and joy of her effort to come and see me along with the memories made that will last a lifetime. Thank you miss Sierra <3
As England encompasses much more than the city of London, I made sure to show my friend another beautiful part of England, Dorset!