Sadly, my journey abroad has come to an end, and after a long eleven hour flight home, it still doesn’t even feel real. Initially, the first thoughts going through my head were all positive and I could not wait to be home, see my friends, and eat the food that I had been missing for four months. Of course, I missed Florence and all of the incredible people that I met there, but I am sure that I will be back and definitely stay in contact with the people that greatly influenced the quality of my study abroad experience. I don’t think that I have drastically changed as a person because of my experience, but I know that I left with a better understanding of the world and have had a first hand experience of immersing myself in another culture. Before studying abroad, I was never aware of my actions being a tourist. Now, I feel like I have more respect to change the way that I present myself and carry the title of being American in a foreign place. Some of my favorite things about coming home were having space to myself, being able to understand everything in English, the availability of information online, and internet access wherever I go. What I miss most about being abroad is the contest feeling of excitement being in a place that doesn’t feel familiar. The best advice that I could give to a student going abroad is to not take one day for granted during your study abroad time. I wish I would have taken better advantage of exploring my city before time was up and would give anything to go back and spend a few hours getting lost. I am so thankful for my experience abroad and truly would not have wanted it any other way. I spent 120 days in thirteen different countries and learned more about myself and the world than I ever could have imagined.
Florence- The Duomo
Morocco- my last country