Arriving home has been so bittersweet. I miss Europe so much and the experiences I got but I am so glad to be back home with my family and dogs. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to study abroad and will definitely be taking advantage of any future study abroad opportunities. I loved getting to meet so many new people and gained so many friends during my month in Austria. I wholeheartedly believe this opportunity changed me for the better. It gave me so many new perspectives and cultural experiences that have made me want to expand my travel and see as many countries as I possibly can. It was so great to be able to see how others lived in a different part of the world and being able to learn what I did from my course with the United Nations. Getting back into the flow of everything back home took a day or two of adjusting but it was not as extreme as I thought it would be. I missed my car, as the travel in Europe is primarily by walking or train, but it was fairly easy getting back into the swing of everything. My advice for anyone that is thinking about studying abroad is, DO IT! If you have the opportunity, take advantage of it and see as many places as you can and experience education in a different country! You will gain so much knowledge culturally and educationally through studying abroad and you will be a better person for it. It can definitely be scary to think about being so far from family or friends but you will meet so many great people that you probably would not meet otherwise. So my best advice is, take the leap. I am so thankful I got this experience and am very grateful for being offered this grant and I hope everyone that reads these blogs considers studying abroad themselves.
