The most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do in my life was walk away from my family in the airport in the Fall of 2014. Tears were streaming down my face as I walked towards TSA and the security guards kept asking if I was alright. I was packed and ready to move my life 4500 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to Aix-en-Provence, France. A place that’s completely foreign to me. Never having ever been on a plane alone freaked me out. I had no idea for what I signed myself up.
When all of my family found out that I was studying abroad, they could not believe it. I am the shyest person in my family. I mean, I would be my mother’s or father’s shadow at every party and not speak to anyone. “Really? Brianna?” was their response. From this day forward, I had to prove that I could not only handle, but excel and thrive while living abroad on my own for the first time in a foreign country where cultural norms, laws and the national language were completely different.
Furthermore, I lived with two host families (one for the first half of the semester and one for the second half). This was challenging in itself because now I had to not only get accustomed with speaking French every day, all day, I had to live by their rules again after having lived on my own for two years in college thus far. Knowing when to close/open the shutters, whether or not you’re supposed to prepare the table for dinner and how late you can take a shower (before dinner) are all things I had to learn to do. Unfortunately, it was mostly by trial and error. This whole process was learning by trial and error: how to act when entering/leaving a store, attending a house party (in France, a person’s home is private and usually not shared until a deep connection is made), and planning your eating schedule (most restaurants usually do not open until 7:30 or 8 p.m.).
Sounds intimidating, huh? It’s daunting at first, but once you go through it, it allows you to learn about yourself and how you handle new situations that are outside of your comfort zone. Patience-you will develop patience for communicating with others who cannot understand your broken French or patience for waiting until dinner. Respect- respect and understanding of the new culture with which you have been trying to assimilate. Maturity-the ability to handle a situation independently in an effective and appropriate manner. Time management- the ability to juggle classes, school work, spending time with your host family, skyping family and friends back home, and traveling to other countries for “holiday.”
This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it was the best decision I ever made! Traveling without the comfort of family, friends, or even a familiar language allows you to gain true independence and interact with others who are different than you. Your interpersonal communication advances, your thrill for adventure increases, and you create memories that will last a lifetime. As cliché as it sounds, it’s all very true. If you don’t believe me, try it out for yourself. When was the last time you stepped completely out of your comfort zone?
(Fair warning: You will be infected with the travel bug and never want to stop exploring the world.)
