I cried tears of sadness when I left home to spend an entire semester in a foreign country, and I cried tears of sadness when I left that same country at the end of the semester because it had become my home. There were so many memories and emotions in those months spent on Canterbury Rd in Oxford, England.
My favorite part of the experience was that I had time to really get a taste of what life in Oxford was like instead of just seeing the highlights of a place the way one does when they’re traveling. I had my favorite study spots, restaurants, and running trails around town became close friends with a few Oxford students and took many solo walks, which almost always resulted in an exciting new find. One of my favorite (and nerdiest) memories in Oxford is listening to the Harry Potter soundtrack while exploring the campus of Christ Church College, where a few scenes from the movies were filmed.
Having the opportunity to study under the abroad professors in an intimate setting was another unique piece of the semester. The classes I took, my favorites being Major British Writers and History & Philosophy of Biology, challenged me to become a more diligent student and insightful learner, and I was proud of the work I accomplished over the semester.
I also traveled to amazing places such as Nice, France, Edinburgh, Scotland, and Rome, Italy. Each of these trips was with different groups of people and left me with the kind of memories that I will always feel nostalgic for. I challenged myself to begin every one of these trips with an open mindset and set aside any preconceived notions about that particular place. This way, I was able to soak up all the surprises, sights, and experiences more readily instead of filtering them through a lens of expectation.
Life in Europe had its glorious highs but was a bit like a roller coaster ride in that it also had its lows. Traveling in the wee hours of the morning led to delirium, missing an important train led to panic and solving conflict with friends that you have spent every minute of the semester with led to frustration. Although these conflicts were disheartening at the time, I can appreciate them now because they represent the lessons I learned while abroad.
The combination of being out of my comfort zone in foreign countries and facing new obstacles molded me into a better version of myself. Four months in a new country seems like a long time, but when it was time to leave Oxford, I desperately wished I had more time left to stay. The past semester has heightened my love for experiencing new cultures, meeting people very different from myself, and my appreciation for the wide variety of places in the world.
