One of my favorite things about Belgium, and Europe in general, is that their cities and towns are largely built around walking or cycling. We spent hours walking around Leuven, Brussels, Ghent, and Bruges, and it was so easy. Sure, you needed to look out for the occasional car or bike barreling down the street, but it was otherwise smooth sailing. You could see any landmark you wanted just by walking around the city.
Ever since I was a freshman in high school, I have wanted to travel the world. That year, I took my first French class, and I started really getting into European soccer. I was already fascinated by Roman and Greek mythology from history and literature classes as well, and I loved my world cultures class in middle school. Freshman year was when I truly recognized how much I wanted to see of the rest of the world.
I was really nervous about talking to people in Belgium because I had never been abroad. Plus, I didn’t really know their languages too well. I took four years of French classes in high school, but that wasn’t terribly helpful because we were mostly in the northern part of Belgium that spoke Dutch. However, there wasn’t really anything to be afraid of.
I had class Monday through Thursday from 9:00am to 1:20pm. My roommates and I would wake up every morning and walk to school together. Our school was on the other side of the city, so we were able to walk over the Ponte Vecchio every day and experience that view. Something I loved about studying abroad through the AIFS program was that they offered breakfast and dinner vouchers that could be redeemed at various local cafes and restaurants. These vouchers lasted me the entirety of my stay, so I was able to save money on food.
The housing for my specific program was all apartments. My program leaders saw it as a way to fully immerse us into the culture and lifestyle of Italy, so we lived in apartments all across Florence. I had 7 roommates, which was the most that one could have. At first this overwhelmed me, as I had never lived with a roommate before—much less 7 strangers. When we arrived in Florence, we stayed at a hotel the first night while our apartments were being prepared for our arrival. It was there that I met 2 of my eventual roommates, and we instantly got along very well.
I decided to take a painting course while studying abroad in Florence, Italy. I have always been interested in creating art, but I never felt like I had the opportunity to pursue it. My class was small—less than 20 students—and we were all on an introductory level. On the first day, the professor took us out of the studio and into the city to buy our own art supplies. While it is typical to purchase your own textbooks in college classes, it was a new experience to go out with my classmates and buy what we needed for the class; it almost felt like a field trip.
At the end of sophomore year, I started to feel like I had an idea of what I wanted to do after college. I had already decided my major was Economics, and I was taking Latin American Studies classes to fulfill requirements for my certificate by freshman year. Yet, sophomore year was crucial because I found a way to complement the things I was learning, and I developed a strong interest for economics in developing countries and the role international organizations play in this field.
Looking back at my experience in Chile, I feel like I usually remember many of the big events, like experiences I did not expect to have. Some of those unforgettable experiences are when I hiked up part of a 9000 ft volcano (Villarica), or when I saw some of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen in my life. I can say these events helped me view life differently, to view it more simply and less worrisome. But, I think remembering them sometimes can overshadow the small, yet meaningful things about my study abroad experience, such as the challenges I faced.
I love traveling for many reasons, but one that is instantly exciting is trying new food because I am not a picky eater. In my house, my family and I eat a lot of Colombian dishes that have traditional ingredients like beans, rice, and plantains, which are also very commonly found in places like Mexico or Puerto Rico. But Latin America is a very diverse region, and I knew before going to Chile that what a lot of countries in Central America or the northern part of South America eat was probably very different from what countries in the southern parts of South America eat.
Studying abroad taught me a million and one lessons, ones I didn’t even know I needed to know. From traveling on planes, trains, and automobiles, to celebrating home country’s holidays, to breaking down language barriers in non-english-speaking countries, I believe there is no better way to catalyze one’s global competency than studying abroad. However, because there is so much to learn and explore, no one can ever be fully prepared for what they’re getting into. And I am no exception.