Post-trip perspectives

So I actually wrote this like a week and a half ago and forgot to post it! Welcome back crazy hectic vet school brain....it's been a while....

Every time I look back at a picture or think of my time in Europe, I can’t help but smile. I’ve been abroad before, but every experience has been different. When I went to Israel, it was all about immersing myself more into my culture and religion.  In South Africa, I felt like I gained an appreciation for wildlife and conservation that I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else. This trip, I came back with a revitalized view of my soon to be career in veterinary medicine.  I felt like this trip truly forced me out of my established comfort zone; I got experiences with animals I rarely work with (lots and lots of cows, poultry, and pigs) and I had to deal with people from completely different cultures.  Before this trip, I don’t think I realized just how independent I was capable of being.  I had never really traveled for an extensive period of time by myself but on this trip I spent 3 days completely by myself exploring in Paris. I also managed to get myself from Amsterdam to Paris, from Paris to Lisbon to meet up with my sister, from Barcelona to Frankfurt, and from Frankfurt home to Texas.  This did involve me nearly missing my train to Paris, being completely confused by the setup of the Paris airport, a delayed connecting flight, and finding my hotel in Frankfurt. I think if I had attempted to do this a few years ago, it wouldn’t have been possible…I’m pretty sure I would have completely broken down over the simplest thing!  All the traveling around Europe we did during the program definitely gave me the confidence do this on my own.

Being back in the U.S. has been a little bit of a culture shock.  I often catch myself thinking about how things were in Europe and how I’d like to go back a few months and experience it again!  I know that in most of my conversations this summer I have somehow managed to bring up Europe….”well in Germany they…” or “Did you know that in Europe….?” I just can’t help but miss all those beautiful cities and the awesome people I was privileged to meet.  I am already hoping that I will going back sometime soon and making a mental list of all the places I want to visit again/all the places I didn’t get to see yet.

I wouldn’t change this experience in any way. Everything worked out just the way it was supposed to, even the things that didn’t quite go perfectly as planned.