Reflecting on My Semester

I've been home for a few weeks now and I can certainly say that I miss Paris more than I would have thought. At first, I was so excited to be home and see my family, catch up with all my friends, and of course eat Mexican food that I have been craving since the beginning of March. However, now that I'm back to the norm I am finding myself missing Paris and reflecting on what a great semester I had. Spending four months in Paris was a great opportunity I was able to have and I loved every second of it. 

When I first started my journey abroad I did not have many expectations. I didn't know what it would be like to live in a foreign country for a few months. I actually was scared, I thought I wouldn't like it, I wouldn’t make any friends or the language barrier would be a problem. However, all my worries weren't anything to worry about after all. My time in Paris was amazing, I may even be bias now and say that Paris is the greatest city ever. I also made amazing friends that I already miss so much and I learned enough French to at least be able to order my brunch everyday. And I actually enjoyed learning French so much that back home I'm still practicing and taking classes to learn even more.  

I also never expected to learn so much while being abroad. Some of the main things I learned was that the world is larger than I thought and it is filled with so many different cultures and people. And seeing these different cultures while traveling around Europe has helped me become more open-minded and  made me want to learn more about the world. I also learned a lot about myself and feel like I grew as a person. I became more independent and self confident. Before going abroad I mostly traveled with my family, meaning I never really took a flight by myself, never had to figure out transportation or accommodation. However, now I have no problem doing that as I did it on my own while abroad.

 
This experience has been one of the best experiences of my life and it has opened my mind to new possibilities. Perhaps in the future I would want to live in Paris or just try to travel more. But we will see.