Lol. Luckily for those around me, I haven't been this person since I got back to the States. Maybe if I feel particularly pretentious one day I'll whip this line out, but I'm going to do my best to keep it to a minimum.
Credit for this image as well as many other hilarious ones goes to: http://www.adventureseeker.org/travel-inspiration/the-50-best-study-abroad-memes-ive-ever-seen/ . The truth in this post is mindblowing.
I've now been back in America for a week. It almost seems like my time in Aix was a dream. I haven't had trouble readjusting to my life back in the States, and I don't feel like a completely different person. I mean, I guess that's because, after all, I was only abroad for a month and a half, not years. But I think it's more that I've returned to my country the same person, just a little better.
Better is a weird word to use there. It's like "Allison, New and Improved" or something. I think what I'm trying to say is that after immersing myself in a different culture for half the summer, I was chipped and chiseled by the experiences I had, and have now returned as myself, but a more developed version of myself. Living in France gave me a window into an entirely different side of myself, a window that has remained open since I came home. Now that I'm back, even though I've fallen easily into my usual patterns, I am overall more aware of people, ideas, and cultures around me, as well as more aware of myself. I didn't stop learning when I left France - rather, France was just the starting point. I'll carry all of my lessons and memories from Aix with me forever, and I'll look at everything differently from now on as well.
As easy as it was for me to reintegrate into American life, there are things I do really miss from Aix. Food is, of course, at the top of the list. You just can't get fruits and vegetables like the ones from the French markets here in the US. And I miss the hustle and bustle of Aix, the sounds of accordions wheezing in the streets, the smell of lavender wafting out of the shops. I miss being able to walk everywhere (though I do love being reunited with my car again, walking so much is great exercise). I miss people watching a lot. And of course, being me, I have to mention how much I miss the coffee. It is really good there (BUT WE HAVE STARBUCK'S HERE 8D ). And I miss a thousand other things, too (like the drinking age...ahem).
It helps to remember, though, that somewhere, beyond the sea, Aix is waiting for me (and if that song is not stuck in your head now, I don't think I can really appreciate you as a person). And not just Aix, but a whole slew of cities and countries and people and languages for me to discover. The world is so enormous, and I want to see it all. Aix didn't nearly satiate my desire to travel, it merely threw gas on the fire. But it did also make me realize that there is so much to learn in my own country that I've never noticed before my time abroad, and for that I am extremely thankful. I've now realized that no matter where I go, whether it be a foreign country or just another small town in Pennsylvania, there's always an opportunity to learn something new and do something different. You just have to look for it.
Studying abroad was the most important thing I've done in my college career to date. I would do it a thousand times over, in a thousand different places - but I know I'll always have a soft spot for Aix. And will I return one day?
Sans doute.
Pour la derniere fois - bisous xoxo
Credit for this image as well as many other hilarious ones goes to: http://www.adventureseeker.org/travel-inspiration/the-50-best-study-abroad-memes-ive-ever-seen/ . The truth in this post is mindblowing.
I've now been back in America for a week. It almost seems like my time in Aix was a dream. I haven't had trouble readjusting to my life back in the States, and I don't feel like a completely different person. I mean, I guess that's because, after all, I was only abroad for a month and a half, not years. But I think it's more that I've returned to my country the same person, just a little better.
Better is a weird word to use there. It's like "Allison, New and Improved" or something. I think what I'm trying to say is that after immersing myself in a different culture for half the summer, I was chipped and chiseled by the experiences I had, and have now returned as myself, but a more developed version of myself. Living in France gave me a window into an entirely different side of myself, a window that has remained open since I came home. Now that I'm back, even though I've fallen easily into my usual patterns, I am overall more aware of people, ideas, and cultures around me, as well as more aware of myself. I didn't stop learning when I left France - rather, France was just the starting point. I'll carry all of my lessons and memories from Aix with me forever, and I'll look at everything differently from now on as well.
As easy as it was for me to reintegrate into American life, there are things I do really miss from Aix. Food is, of course, at the top of the list. You just can't get fruits and vegetables like the ones from the French markets here in the US. And I miss the hustle and bustle of Aix, the sounds of accordions wheezing in the streets, the smell of lavender wafting out of the shops. I miss being able to walk everywhere (though I do love being reunited with my car again, walking so much is great exercise). I miss people watching a lot. And of course, being me, I have to mention how much I miss the coffee. It is really good there (BUT WE HAVE STARBUCK'S HERE 8D ). And I miss a thousand other things, too (like the drinking age...ahem).
It helps to remember, though, that somewhere, beyond the sea, Aix is waiting for me (and if that song is not stuck in your head now, I don't think I can really appreciate you as a person). And not just Aix, but a whole slew of cities and countries and people and languages for me to discover. The world is so enormous, and I want to see it all. Aix didn't nearly satiate my desire to travel, it merely threw gas on the fire. But it did also make me realize that there is so much to learn in my own country that I've never noticed before my time abroad, and for that I am extremely thankful. I've now realized that no matter where I go, whether it be a foreign country or just another small town in Pennsylvania, there's always an opportunity to learn something new and do something different. You just have to look for it.
Studying abroad was the most important thing I've done in my college career to date. I would do it a thousand times over, in a thousand different places - but I know I'll always have a soft spot for Aix. And will I return one day?
Sans doute.
Pour la derniere fois - bisous xoxo