Lately, I’d like to think that I have been stepping further and further out of my comfort zone. I have been taking every opportunity to try something new, and loving every minute of it.
I had to opportunity to travel to Paris for a May term class this year. After all the terrorism that has occurred there, I was a bit hesitant, but then my mom reminded me that it could happen anywhere.
I took a leap of faith and went to France with my best friend (and the rest of our class). While we were there, we were able to get a feel for the French culture. We tried new foods, took the metro, and attempted to communicate in French.
We quickly learned that you eat a baguette with every meal (even breakfast). It was a different custom that became a regular routine. By the end of the trip, there were people eating full baguettes just because they wanted to!
The metro is definitely something new when you’re from small town Iowa. Being in such close quarters with strangers is a daily occurrence for the French. We were sometimes squished like sardines with each other and with people that we’d never see again. There were times that we were racing down the stairs to get to the metro in time before it left without us!
Being in France was seriously the opportunity of a lifetime. We were able to live the way the French do.
We became so accustomed to the way of French life that I was saying “Bonjour” and “Merci” when we arrived back in the United States. Seeing the castles and old buildings became normal, and I can’t wait for my next adventure whether that’s Paris or somewhere else!
My time in Paris is indescribable.The pictures I took don't even do it justice. Being there in person is the only way to experience any place you go.There are no words to capture that feeling in that exact moment of what the atmosphere is like, what you are like.
Doing new things in a new place, no matter where that place is or what those things are, is a new adventure. Trying new foods is stepping out of your comfort zone. Doing a new activity or joining a club is something new, too. You don’t have to leave the country and travel to experience new things. Those new things could be right next door!
While I’ve been trying new things and “saying yes to new adventures,” I wasn’t quite adventurous enough to try escargot…
