Selfie from the top of a Cathedral in Faro, Portugal
New Experiences and New Friends
Before leaving, all I heard from people who had gone on Study Abroad before me was how much I was going to be changed and how I was going to stretch and grow this semester. I don’t think I fully believed any of them. However, this past summer, I never would have guessed that I would be paragliding through the Swiss Alps or planning and traveling throughout Europe, figuring out things as I go. Switzerland was my most recent trip, going over Thanksgiving break.
Growing up, trips have always been something that was planned months or years in advance with every aspect planned out, but two friends and I decided to go to Switzerland based off of a picture of a valley that looked beautiful! After getting there, we saw some paragliders gliding over the city of Interlaken, and I’m sure we stood out as being not from there by the way we watched and pointed at the gliders. Over the next day, we did plenty of exploring and hiking through the surrounding trails until the next day; while walking a trail, Sam just threw out the idea of what if we went paragliding.
I am confident that before this semester of new experiences and finding more confidence in myself, I would never have considered doing something such as that without at least two months of prep time! Thankfully, we decided to go, and the next morning we woke up early and, a couple minutes later, found ourselves thousands of feet in the air. It was certainly terrifying, and walking up the edge before we flew off had every fiber of my being to turn around, but instead, I ran off into the air and had the most exhilarating experience of my life!
I am so thankful for this semester and the people I have met that pushed me to grow in ways I had never thought of before. I have become closer to those friends with me in Switzerland and everyone else in our house, more so than I could ever have guessed. A core memory of this semester and the heart of what really makes this group of people special comes from the first time our house went to play kickball and football (or soccer for you Americans) together. This was early on in the semester, and it felt truly special to have all of these new friends come out to run around laughing and playing in the park. None of us were particularly good, which only made the experience even funnier. This was the first time I truly fell in love with this group of people. Leaving for Study Abroad, the thing I was most scared of was missing out on memories with my friends in Abilene, but this evening in the park was a great sign to show how many great memories there are to be made with this new set of friends too.
Football in the Port Meadow Park
Walking through Oxford City Center after studying at Blackwell’s Bookshop
Hiking a fell in Hawes, England during the group trip to the Lake District
At the peak of Crag’s Head on the Lake District hike with our English professor, Dr. Winn