Submitted by Kaitlyn Diehl on the 2016 fall semester study abroad program in Paris, France…
After tearful hugs, and a sigh of resignation, I overcame the hardest part of studying abroad: saying good-bye. With one wave to my parents, I am past JFK’s security checkpoint and suddenly a familiar energy sets in – a combination of adrenaline and excitement that overcomes any doubts I had while in the arms of familiar company. “I’ve done this before,” I whisper to myself. I’d done it before in Spain and I would do it again in France. But first, a pit stop to visit a friend in London.
Seven hours and one transfer later, I make my way to the baggage claim accompanied by a friendly Brazilian boy. This is my favorite part of traveling: unorthodox friendships. Rodrigo, as he was called, needed a pen on the airplane. I had a pen. I also had unrestrained enthusiasm barely maintained by the flimsy seat-belt. Rodrigo was bouncing with nerves as well, ready to begin his own study abroad adventure in Oxford. Soon enough, “Do you have a pen?” turned into “Would you like to see England with me?” Once the boy exclaimed “Look! Harry Potter town!” at the sight of London below, I knew we would be friends.
Believe it or not, this kind of fast connection happens to me rather frequently while abroad. There’s a certain mystique in traveling alone through the unknown. Suddenly your comfort zone has entirely vanished and all you know to be true only exists within your mind – social graces, the proper way to dress, to socialize, to LIVE. The baseline for everything you’ve accepted as true has been removed and you are just a tiny person among thousands of others with their own unique footing. For some, this may be terrifying. For me, I come alive.
Two hours later, I am reunited with Sun Lee Curry, my friend from the United States. Ironically, we met in a UD French class and bonded over a love of adventure. Sun had studied abroad in Paris three years prior and was a large part of my inspiration. He’d moved to England to find another escapade and I was quickly following behind. The week was filled with a satisfying amount of exploration, but my favorite part came on the last night in London when Sun threw a party. What does a party mean? More new people. More new baselines. The party consisted of four Englishmen and one Scotsman. Conversation flowed quickly as the group became comfortable, and it hit me that this moment was surreal. I was sitting among a variety of people I would never have the chance to interact with if it weren’t for the courage to study abroad. Without leaving America, I would never cross paths with the boy who had once lived and taught in Nepal, and I would never sing the Scottish national anthem at the top of my lungs or discuss Brexit with the very people whose lives it most effected. Perhaps all of these things have the potential to happen in the United States, but sometimes you have to go out of your comfort zone to appreciate them and to understand them. Abroad, my beliefs are not the baseline, but I am ready to interact with hundreds of other people to learn about theirs.