During the last two spring breaks, I had the privilege of studying abroad with fellow STAC students, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 2015, and in Europe in 2016. Needless to say, both trips were among the coolest and most educational things I've done in my life. About a month ago, I wrote about the first two destinations of our Europe tour: London and the Netherlands. The trip was part of an international law class at STAC, during which we visited numerous political and historical sites throughout western Europe, as well as utilizing our free time to explore the countries we were in and enjoy local food specialties. Now it's time for the third and final part of my three-part article series on our ten day adventure through Europe.
The last country we would end up visiting on our tour was Belgium, home of the European Commission, classic local foods, and for some reason, a famous statue of a child urinating. Belgium's capital city of Brussels is lined with dozens of small shops that specialize in chocolate or waffles. The chocolate is often made straight from the shop, and it definitely did not disappoint. And there's simply no way you can leave Belgium without trying the famous waffles that bear the country's name. Fluffier and sweeter than a regular waffle, Belgian waffles can be ordered with a huge selection of toppings.
Later in the day, we got to go inside the European Commission building, which headquarters the European Union. Unfortunately, we did not have a chance to tour the building, but we did sit in on a lecture on how the international government body works.
Day two in Belgium was set aside for a small medieval city called Bruges. Bruges is a little bit like Amsterdam, as there are plenty of canals running through it, although the architecture is much different. The streets are paved with cobblestone and the buildings give visitors a medieval Europe vibe. It's easy to spend an entire day walking through the city just to look at the scenery. One of the highlights of Bruges was taking a horse-drawn carriage down the streets.
We also encountered this fantastic image of a dog driving a car:
As we boarded the plane back to New York, I was feeling quite the mix of emotions. It's always difficult for me to leave a place like Europe, not knowing when I'll ever get to go back. I made great friendships with my classmates who went on the trip, and we all became a very tight group over the course of the trip. At the same time, as someone who commutes to college, ten days was the longest I'd ever spent away from home and it was time to go back to everyday life. Flying on that plane for nine hours got me thinking of all the memories I'd take home from the trip letting the idea of where I had just come from sink in.
If you ever have the chance to study abroad, definitely do it. Understandably, there are going to be some barriers in the way for a lot of students. I was very unsure of whether or not it would be worth it, but I ended up learning a lot more about different cultures around the world than I ever could in any classroom. No matter where in the world you go, it will always end up being something unlike anything you've done before. Traveling with other students from your school is a big plus, as opposed to traveling to a foreign country on your own, because you really end up meeting some of your best friends and everyone gets to experience it together.
Lastly, it would not be right to talk about my experience in Europe without thanking Professor Cahill for organizing it and for all the hard work she did for us along the way. I was a lot more comfortable in the months leading up to the trip because of her and during our ten days in Europe, she had to act as a tour guide, despite being in the same position as the rest of us in a foreign country. She made the experience a lot more fun and helped the trip go a lot more smoothly, something I'm sure all of my classmates would agree with.
