Whilst abroad I learned several things, one being how much being in a foreign country affects you. I really didn’t realize this until I got home and I caught myself saying things like, “In Britain the fruit is fresher and cheaper,” or “In Britain everyone gets free healthcare,” or “In Britain you’re supposed to stand to one side of the escalator so people can pass, otherwise you’ll get yelled at.” I didn’t fully appreciate while I was there how much I loved the culture and all the little small things that are different in each country. Now I miss it. However, I also loved getting to meet people from so many different countries through staying in hostels, as well as doing community service helping people learn to speak better English at a local church. It was through this service that I made a really great friend from Italy. She and I hung out a few times and got coffee, and I really loved getting to know her and realizing how much we had in common despite living in such different countries.
Overall though, I think the most important lesson I learned is to enjoy the moment. I am a perfectionist and I love scheduling. I have always known this, but keeping to my own schedule has never been an issue before. However, when I went on a three day trip to Paris, nothing happened the way I wanted or planned it to. Everyone I traveled with wanted to sleep in late rather than getting an early start with me, and even though I tried to keep everyone on the schedule I mentally appointed, it just wasn’t happening. We got lost constantly, our phones wouldn’t load directions, and each of us had our own ideas about how to navigate. Sadly, it wasn’t until I got back to Oxford that I realized, maybe I should have just enjoyed the moment rather than trying so hard to keep to my own “perfect schedule.”
After that, I applied this knowledge to every trip I went on, only choosing two or three priorities of places to go instead of many, and moving on with life if we couldn’t get to one or if others didn’t want to go. It was hard to sit back to just soak in the moments of European travel, but when I could it really helped a lot, keeping the rest of the trip fun and smooth even when everything blew up in my face. I just enjoyed the journey and reminded myself that it was all part of the fun.