Dear study abroad family,

First of all, let me say that I have never met such an amazing group of people in my entire life. You were all so kind, hilarious, caring, and intelligent. Each one of you surprised me every day with a new comment on the topic we were studying, and then surprised me even more by making me laugh throughout the day. I can honestly say that the trip would not have been the same if anybody else was there except for all of you. Now, I wanted to say thank you for a few things.

First, thank you for not letting me go absolutely crazy at the airport and during the trip. Many of you knew that I had never left the country and it was my first time traveling on an airplane since I was about ten-years-old. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing while traveling through the airport, but each of you guided the way and made sure that I wasn't stressed or anxious and that I felt much more confident about flying. Throughout the trip, we were all feeling quite stressed with all of the work we had to do along the way, but we all encouraged each other to push through it. Without all of your support and encouragement, I'm not sure that I would have been able to complete all of it, let alone feel confident about the work that I did.

Second, thank you to the professors who not only made sure nobody got lost, but also taught us some truly amazing things along the way. Although many of us were caught complaining sometimes, we were all so grateful for the trip you had planned out for us. We all realized how much work and stress must have gone into planning a trip for 20 students. I'm actually shocked that you managed to not only not lose any of us, but also get us all home in one piece. I learned so much along the way about our course subject, every new country we visited, and simply about life and what is expected out of us young adults.

Finally, thank you to everyone for the most amazing memories I've ever had the opportunity of experiencing. I'm so grateful for sharing beds, navigating new cities, crying over Barrie's departure, and experiencing many, many new things together. I probably know more about some of you than I do about my closest friends at home. There was never a dull moment with any of you (well, except for maybe falling asleep on all public transportation systems). Besides that, I know that each of us had the time of our lives getting to travel across Europe together, and we would all do it again in a heartbeat. Even though we just got home a little over a week ago, I already miss all of you so much and I hope we can stay in touch in the future!

Love,

Mary.