I had been
in love with the idea of living in Europe for as long as I can remember. I would imagine my various adventures
throughout the continent, such as sitting in a café in view of the Eiffel Tower
in Paris, walking down the foggy cobblestone streets of London, and riding on
the back of a cute boy’s motor scooter in Rome, a la The Lizzie McGuire Movie. Similar to Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace, I was
drawn into a fantasy world when I saw pictures of European cities. I planned my future around someday, if even
only temporarily, living in Europe. One
of the main reasons I even chose to attend Loyola was for the school’s excellent
study abroad programs. When I heard
about Loyola’s first and longest year-long program in Leuven, Belgium, I knew
that I had to go. Adventure was calling
and I had been waiting a long time to finally answer.
There were
quite a few reasons why I chose Loyola’s study abroad program in Leuven. First of all, the program was ten months
long, running from the end of August through June, meaning ample travel time. Second, the program included a week-long trip
in France, a weekend in Amsterdam, and a ten-day trip in Italy, as well as
several one-day trips. Finally, Belgium
is centrally located and perfect for travelling to other countries on the
weekends. Studying abroad in Leuven
seemed like the perfect fit for my extreme wanderlust.
During my
ten months abroad, I visited at least fifteen different countries. I have slept in hostel rooms with complete
strangers, overnight in airports, and occasionally nodded off on various forms
of public transportation. I have met
people from all over the world and befriended many of them during my short
forty-eight hour stays in various cities.
I have been on countless free walking tours of cities and have seen
historical landmarks such as the Charles Bridge in Prague, the House of
Parliament in London, and the Coliseum in Rome.
All of these aspects, plus many more, make up my memories of my travels
while abroad.
I learned a
lot about myself and grew so much during my time travelling. I always knew that I was organized and a
planner, and put myself in charge of keeping track of everyone’s airline
tickets, hostel reservation confirmations, and maps during our many travels. I have also always been a quiet person who
doesn’t like to speak up, but I was almost always the one designated to ask strangers
for help when we were lost or confused.
While I didn’t physically turn into a dragon, or anything else for that
matter, like Eustace when he leaves the group on the second island, my travel experiences
changed me for the better. I have
refined my organizational skills and have learned to push myself more in
challenging and uncomfortable situations.
While
reading the novel, I connected my own travel experiences with those of the
characters of Lewis’ The Voyage of the
Dawn Treader. The novel is simply
about the characters’ quest to find the seven lost lords, although it focuses
more on the characters’ journey than simply finding the lords. Every character’s experience is different and
every character changes in a different way, something that I find true for
everyone’s journeys. One of my favorite cities
that I visited may be one of my friends’ least favorite, and vice versa. It is more important to note what we learn about
ourselves and take away from our experience that makes travelling so
great. I can take a step back and look
at everything that I learned and be proud of my personal growth, all thanks to
my experiences while travelling abroad.
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