One Year Ago...

First of all, let me say Welcome Back to Stonehill, everyone! I am SO excited to be back on campus with all of my friends, especially since we are no longer separated by an extremely large Atlantic Ocean as everyone is back from their semesters abroad and we're all together again! Speaking of abroad, today and yesterday were pretty strong reminders of how much I miss my time abroad, but before I get to that here are the pictures I promised from Arizona:

Here is a picture of my cousin Sara and I at Sprinkles Cupcakes with our frosting shots!

I want to go back to Sprinkles!

Jen and I reunited- first time since March, second time since Paris!

Sara and I on my last night in AZ- miss you!

Obviously I had a fantastic time in AZ as you all read in my last post. So now it's time to move on to the real topic of my blog this week: that one year ago today I was spending my very first day in Paris, not realizing that the most incredible three and a half months of my life lay ahead of me. My friends (and anyone else I spoke to yesterday) can vouch that I was really missing Paris yesterday-- because one year ago yesterday I was on a plane headed across the Atlantic towards France. In fact, as I write this at 11 am EST, it is 5 pm in Paris, so I was probably headed out with my API group to buy our very first metro passes before heading to our first group dinner. I remember feeling so EXCITED that I was finally back in France, ready to use my French for a whole semester in my favorite city in the world. I hadn't been to Europe in about 2 years at that point- I'd been twice before: the summer before senior year of high school I studied with my best friends in Montpellier, France (in the south) through a trip my high school put on and then after high school graduation I went back to France and to Italy with my mom, my best friend and her mom. I fell in love with Paris and couldn't wait to go back, so obviously I was thrilled with my study abroad situation. 

                                                                                                                                                                          

One year ago I had no idea that I was going to meet people that are now some of the most important people in my life. I had no idea that I was going to get to see the beaches of Barcelona, have tea in Oxford with my Stonehill roomie, happily get lost in the canals of Venice, visit a high school friend in Copenhagen, spend a whirlwind weekend attempting to speak Czech in Prague, spend a Sunday at one of the 7 wonders of the world (Mont St. Michel) in Bretagne, walk the beaches of Normandy or simply go for a walk around Paris, gleefully absorbing everything in sight. I had no idea that my French was going to improve so much, or that I was going to miss taking the metro every day. I had no idea what lay ahead, I only knew I was ready for it. 

                                                                                                                                                                          

I realize that studying abroad is not for everyone, but for me it was something I planned on doing while in high school. I wouldn't look at colleges if they didn't have a study abroad program in Paris, and I knew I wanted to go the fall semester of my junior year. Luckily, my ridiculously intelligent roomie also got accepted to Oxford University for the fall term (yes, she went to the best university in the world and spent more time in the libraries than most accountants do in the offices during tax season while I spent a carefree semester flitting around Europe-- and yes I can already hear her groans as she reads this- Mandi, when you read this remember how much you love me!) and so our living situation wasn't messed up at all. I always tell my tours that studying abroad was the best time of my life and that's because it's the truth. Going to live in Europe for a few months with housing, food and cell phone bills covered? Um, YES PLEASE. 

                                                                                                                                                                          

Now here I am, one year later, minorly depressed as I think about what I was doing one year ago. I'm going to put some of my favorite pictures from my Euro-adventure, mostly to ease my pain but maybe you'll enjoy them too!

This is a picture of my good friend Annie and I in Copenhagen, Denmark. Annie and I went to high school together and since we were both in Europe for the fall, we obviously had to see each other! In this picture, we'd just finished a snack of delicious Danish pastries and were headed back out into the monsoon...

My family! This is me and my parents along the river Seine in Paris when they came to see me!

Though I'd love to take credit for this picture, my friend Jamie actually took it, but it's one of my favorites. This right here is my favorite spot in the whole world! If you don't know, every night on the hour, the Eiffel Tower sparkles for about 10 minutes, and Jamie captured it beautifully!

Another favorite spot in Paris- the Luxembourg gardens, where I had lunch a lot during the semester. I love this picture because it looks like a postcard!

One of my favorite group shots: Charles, Ellen, Jen, Jamie, me and Allie in the city of St. Malo in Bretagne, France.

Without a doubt this photo represents one of the best weekends of my life. Ellen, Jamie and I went to Prague for a CRAZY weekend of almost missing flights, attempting to speak/understand Czech (which sounds RIDICULOUS) and countless other adventures! This photo was taken near the Prague Castle and you can see some of the gorgeous city in the background.

Since my roomie was studying in Oxford, I got to fly to London first and stay there with her before going to Oxford. Here I am in front of Parliament and Big Ben!

Having tea in Oxford, England with my Stonehill roomie Mandi (on the left) and her Oxford roomie Erin

On a spur of the moment decision, Beth and I jetsetted to Barcelona for a warm November weekend of sunshine, beaches and sangria :)

November = cold

November near a large body of water = colder

November in Venice which is built on a large body of water = FREEZING!

Our weekend in Venice was lots of fun (especially each meal!) but it was sooooo cold. I went with my friend Jen (who I just saw in AZ), her friend Frieda and my good friend Charles. This was my last trip out of France before coming home.

Some of you may have heard of the nation-wide transportation strikes that went on in France last fall. Well, here's a picture of one of the riots near my school. Our API directors instructed us to run away if we ever saw a riot or protest... well, I took pictures instead. And yes, that is a person standing on the roof of a bus shelter. 

Our very last trip before coming home! Jamie and I took the TGV (a high-speed train) out to Strasbourg, France for the day. Strasbourg borders Germany and they have a world-famous Christmas market there every year from 11/24-12/24 so Jamie and I went for the first day. It was SO COLD that we nicknamed it our trip to the North Pole, but it was a fantastic day of doing everything Christmas-y: drinking hot cocoa, ice skating, eating gingerbread (seriously!), eating chocolate-covered EVERYTHING (like the apples in this photo!) and of course, buying Christmas presents!!

                                                                                                                                                                          

As you can see, my semester abroad was a whirlwind of excitement and adventures. I miss it every day and wish I could go back. If you're thinking about studying abroad, I can't even begin to tell you how much it will do for you. It changes you in ways I can't describe but I can promise you this: You will have the time of your life. 

                                                                                                                                                                          

I sure did.