The last two weeks of my life have been among the most memorable of all. Getting to see many colleges in Oxford and be surrounded by such an intellectually inspiring area was a remarkable experience and one that I can take with me wherever I go for the rest of my life.
Being placed into an area you are unfamiliar with for the first time is one of the most indescribable feelings to have. To say the very least, there is a combination of wonder and fear. Not a fear of being harmed, but more a fear of the unknown and undiscovered. The most remarkable thing about studying abroad is being in a place where there are many others like you: bewildered and anticipating the discovery of something new. That was the beauty of Oxford especially; becoming a part of a community of scholars and learning new things every day, even if that meant learning which way to go on High Street to get to Patisserie Valerie. Fear becoming anticipation is something that you can only experience upon traveling somewhere new and unknown.
New experiences means developing a new understanding for something you might have not had prior to experiencing them. In other words, you can learn all you want to about Magdalen (pronounced Mawd-lin) College and Big Ben, but until you actually visit the places, you cannot fully take in all that they have to offer. One of the best things about the class I was in was that the content taught in class was about the surrounding area. Being able to learn about something before we went to visit it gave the place much more meaning than it would have had if I didn't come into it with some background. Knowing the famous alumni that came out of the different colleges before seeing them in person and being able to physically see the places that existed hundreds of years ago put a name to a place rather than just name dropping.
Additionally, hearing different languages and even different words in the same language for the same item is something you can only experience if you a.) go to a place with large diversity of people or b.) travel somewhere. Although the United Kingdom is an English speaking country, the amount of languages you can hear just walking down the street in London or Oxford is unbelievable. Personal side note, I was attempting to eavesdrop on Italian conversations and the most I was able to pick up on was "we have to go!" It was definitely interesting to hear The weirdest thing about hearing British English versus American English is when something you are so used to hearing or seeing is referred to as something else. For instance, if you were to say you were putting your pants on in America, you would be putting on jeans or dress pants. To say you are putting your pants on in England would mean that you are putting on what we know as underwear. Even simple things like elevators and exit signs are different overseas, as they are referred to as lifts and way out signs. What I cannot seem to understand is why this one bothers me so much, but a word seems too fancy for what it is: an eggplant in England is called an aubergine. Hearing different terms and languages is one of the most interesting parts of studying abroad, and traveling in general.
All in all, studying abroad is an experience like no other for many reasons. Not only is making new friends something that happens almost instantly, but also getting to interact with a new community of people and learn from one another is something to look forward to. One of the coolest things about studying abroad is being abroad of course! Getting to see the world and learn about it is something that makes study abroad so memorable. You truly cannot capture a sense of place if you do not travel and experience new things. The best thing about being a student while traveling is that you are constantly given the opportunity to learn new things and you're young enough to say you only live once and make the most out of your experience. One major thing that I took away from this trip is that you need to make the most of the opportunities that you have in front of you and the only person that's stopping you from getting anywhere is yourself. Even though there is definitely a cost factor to traveling and going overseas, passing up an opportunity to travel because of a monetary issue should be avoided at all costs. Money comes and goes but you are only young once.
And so, I leave you with this thought: if you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?
