By Elizabeth Pray
Staff Writer
This past fall semester, I didn’t see the iconic bell tower, hear the roar of the Reilly Center or order hot chocolate from Café La Verna.
Instead, I spent three months on an island halfway around the world, exploring European cities and culture while furthering my education at an English university.
In other words, I spent the semester studying abroad at Edge Hill University, located in the small town of Ormskirk, England. In case Ormskirk sounds unfamiliar, it’s located about a half an hour north of Liverpool, home of The Beatles.
The initial thought of journeying to an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people seemed intimidating at first. However, I was more overwhelmed and thrilled to have the chance to live in England for three months.
Once there, I found it very different from living in the United States. Aside from the British accents and driving on the left side of the road, the close proximity to other countries seemed foreign to me. The idea of two different countries, Scotland and Wales, being only two hours away threw me off.
Soon after, the European travel bug bit me and inspired trips to London, Edinburgh and Paris. It was nice discovering all these places are real, and not just fantasy lands existing in literature, films and the media. Like most Americans would, I completed the tourist circuits in London – visiting Big Ben, the London Eye and the Tower Bridge, and in Edinburgh, visiting the castle.
However, the highlight was my visit to Paris, a place I thought only existed in my dreams and romantic movies. Unlike the rest of the cities, Paris gave me an interesting perspective – being in a country where English isn’t the native language.
Fueled by a lifelong desire to visit the setting of my favorite book series as a child, “Madeline” by Ludwig Bemelmans, I journeyed to Paris with a friend in early November.
Of course, there always has to be a hitch in one of the trips. Our first night in Paris consisted of getting lost in the Charles de Gaulle airport for two hours. It started with us finding out our train into the city was out of commission.
Since neither of us were fluent in French, we found ourselves in a dilemma. The language barrier quickly sabotaged attempts to take another train and then a bus. Eventually, we found two girls our age who were bilingual in French and English. They recognized our distress and helped us travel back to the city by way of taxi and metro.
Fortunately, the thrill of being in Paris quickly overshadowed our turbulent arrival. A walking tour introduced us to all of the sights in Paris, rich in French culture and beauty.
The giant glass pyramids dominating the entrance to the Louvre Museum astonished me, while Notre Dame Cathedral’s gigantic interior made me feel two inches tall. We even took a trek through a few French gardens in the middle of the city. Learning about centuries of French history made me realize just how young the United States really is.
The Eiffel Tower was the high point of the trip. Standing on top of the 1,000-foot iron tower at dusk, watching the sky paint the River Seine pink and purple, I found myself asking, “Is this real?” I later asked myself the same question sitting across the street, eating cotton candy.
We also visited Versailles, a city about 11 miles outside of Paris. The Palace of Versailles, surrounded by a garden, transports you back in time when royalty walked along its paths. The exquisite landscaping designs and architecture made me question whether or not we were still in the 21st century.
The language barrier was easier to overcome once in Paris. Most of the locals spoke English and their body language helped.
While Paris was my favorite destination, the rest of my experience was also surreal. I never thought I would meet people from 11 different states and at least 10 different countries. Experiencing such diversity taught me just how big the world is.
I had to keep reminding myself I was in Europe, and America was 3,000 miles away. Homesickness hit a few times, but the Internet helped with communication and a blog updated people about my whereabouts and experiences. England gave me the opportunity to get a fresh start and discover parts of myself I never knew existed.
I even encountered that small-world cliché that follows everyone around when I met a girl in Versailles who lived in Rochester, N.Y., the area where I’m from, for four years.
I highly recommend others take the opportunity to study abroad. Visiting Paris does not have to be on your itinerary, but who knows? You might just meet somebody from your corner of the world.
While grateful to be home and back at Bonaventure, choosing to study abroad is one the best decision I ever made. Four countries and dozens of new friends later, I’ve been left with memories I will never forget.
