As someone who’s been abroad before—lived abroad before—I was surprised at how nervous I was coming into my ACU Study Abroad experience. I was worried that somehow, I wasn’t going to get everything I wanted out of it, that it would disappoint, or that it wouldn’t live up to my previous memories of Europe.
I was right. It didn’t live up to my previous memories. It made entirely new ones.
One of my favorite ongoing experiences during Study Abroad was Plein-Air Painting. As a class, we would go out to sites in the city—sometimes on our own or in groups—and paint what was in front of us. Sometimes it would be a cathedral over 1,000 years old, maybe a quaint meadow full of yellow flowers and horses, or even the city of Florence as the sun set behind Brunelleschi’s dome. Taking pictures of a place is one thing, but painting it gives you an appreciation and observation of it far from the typical tourist or even local. I specifically remember painting Christ Church in Oxford, a historical building that served as inspiration for Harry Potter. Our class was spread out on the gravel; some leaned against walls, some just off the path. Tourists walking by would stop and look at our progress, asking why we were doing it, what our techniques were, or just simply admiring our work. At first, it was nerve-racking, but people were genuinely amazed, and I grew to be amazed as well by the opportunity in front of us and the talent literally at our fingertips.
On our weekends, the class would separate. A group of friends and I went to places like Belfast, Paris, and Cinque Terre. At every place, pretty much every time we went out, we would all be carrying our cameras. We weren’t simply overzealous tourists; we were in a Street Photography class that required that we submit weekly portfolios of our work. I loved every second of it. It might have hurt my neck at times, but I took over 10,000 pictures during my seven-week experience. I took some of people hugging, kissing, crying. I took pictures of sunsets and sunrises. I captured some of the most iconic architecture and art in the world—the Mona Lisa, the David(s), Van Goghs. I saw the world from a different perspective—through my camera lens.
As the seven weeks came to an end, I was ready to come home, but I was content. It wasn’t like Europe when I lived there, but I realized it didn’t have to be and I wouldn’t have wanted it to be like that. I loved my time living there previously, and I loved my time studying there. When I left, it wasn’t with a comparison complex in my mind. I left thankful for my time, refreshed in my spirit, and inspired for my future work as a designer.
