Category: Semester

The Journey to Copenhagen

As Karsten attests in his latest blog, sometimes half of the battle is getting there. Follow along on his trip to Copenhagen!

Sunday, September 22, 2019 | Written by Karsten

This weekend, D.J. Akers, Jake Tjards, Julia Kerns, and I decided to make the journey to Copenhagen. Jake and I went by train, and Julia and D.J. went by plane, since they were having Eurail issues. The original route had Jake and I leaving at 8:30pm on Thursday night and making it to Copenhagen at 2:40pm on Friday afternoon. We booked the couple of train reservations necessary, booked our Airbnb, and were off.

Jake and I left Lafayette, our residence hall, at 7:30pm and all went according to plan—that is, until our very first train was delayed upon arrival to the station. Needless to say, with tight layovers, we missed our third train and first reservation, thus messing up the rest of the planned trains. We had to stay in the Mannheim Station for an extra two hours until the next train left, putting us on a train from 2am until 10am. When we got on, everyone was sleeping and there were next to no available seats, but towards the middle of the trip, it became rather empty. However, at about 6am, it filled back up—this time with drinking Germans instead of sleepers. The train went from dead silent to full of noise, and I was not a fan, as I had only gotten an hour of sleep by laying across the two seats. However, and much to my surprise, since the noise was constantly loud, I managed to get a couple more hours of sleep. Everyone on that train got off at Hamburg, so that was a bit of a struggle.

Jake and I searched for food around the train station, but there were so many options that it was difficult to decide. The primary goal was to get coffee, as we packed food for the entirety of the train rides, so we decided on Dunkin Donuts. A couple of girls from America in front of me were very excited for and ordered Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Their excitement rubbed off on me apparently, because I felt inclined to order one as well. I had it on the next train, and it was as good as the last one I had, so I’m glad I ordered it. On the next train, I ate the rest of the food I had packed, and we crossed the border from Germany into Denmark. The rest of the train ride was very uneventful and we made it to Copenhagen at 4:15pm in the afternoon, almost twenty-one hours after leaving our rooms. We met Julia and DJ, went to our Airbnb, and then set out for our adventures in the city.

After a rather rough start, Jake and I ended up being a little downcast and even slightly considered going to other cities from Mannheim, but I am so glad we didn’t change our minds. Copenhagen has been my favorite trip so far (excluding the trip to Belgium with my dad). The city is beautiful, a pretty decent amount of English is spoken, and we didn’t have a set plan. We just did what we wanted to when we wanted to, including taking the train into Sweden (which puts me at eight countries for the semester so far, but who’s counting?) and playing cards in the King’s Garden. Perhaps it was the city that I enjoyed so greatly, perhaps it was the spontaneity, but I’m just glad I got to have this experience.

Moselle Open

Thanks to the Bureau des Etudiants, students at Georgia Tech-Lorraine this semester were able to attend the Moselle Open, which served up some fun and impressive sport.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019 | Written by Karsten

A couple of weeks ago, Adam Bradshaw mentioned to me that the Moselle Open, a tennis tournament, was happening soon and that he wanted to go. He said that it was a large tournament but because the U.S. Open was happening a week prior, the faces of the sport wouldn’t be coming, which is pretty unfortunate. Fast forward roughly a week and he created a GroupMe to gauge the interest of people coming with him and thirty people joined it, so he did his research on tickets.

Last Friday, we had our election for the Bureau des Etudiants (BDE), which is similar to a student government. One of the roles available was the sports coordinator, who is supposed to create events that everyone would want to do related to sports. Georgia Tech-Lorraine can subsidize or entirely cover ticket prices that we have to pay. This is exactly what happened, as we received an email within twenty-four hours about the ability to get free tickets to the Moselle Open. There was a draw for it, but I believe that everyone that responded to the poll within a couple of days got free tickets as well as free transportation to the arena.

Today, we received our tickets and then were able to head over whenever convenient. Adam and I decided to get there around five because we’d be able to see some of the bigger names of the tournament—namely Frenchman Richard Gasquet who’s ranked in the top fifty tennis players in the world. We caught the end of his match versus Spaniard Marcel Granollers and then the entire next match between Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Spaniard Pablo Andujar. Seeing professional tennis in person is mind boggling, especially when able to move around the arena and sit where you want. When we were seated on the side, it was difficult to keep up with the speed that the players were moving and hitting the ball at.

In the early rounds of this tournament, matches are best of three sets, whereas in the biggest tournaments it is best of five. Richard Gasquet won in three sets and Tsonga also won. (I guess the luck was with the French today.) I definitely expected the more agile-looking Andujar to win the latter match. I saw multiple serves at speeds greater than two hundred kilometers per hour, including a max of 211 kph. That’s well over one hundred twenty miles per hour.

Knowing how bad I am at tennis, these matches were crazy to watch. The speed at which the ball moves and the anticipation required to play and win is next level. I would have considered going to the tournament even if I had to pay, but I’m so glad that I was able to experience it for certain through the Georgia Tech-Lorraine.

Coffee in Metz

Coffee is a staple for Georgia Tech students, and whether instant or gourmet, students find a way to get their coffee in Metz and across Europe! Check our Karsten’s feature on coffee.

Saturday, September 14, 2019 | Written by Karsten

I am a big fan of coffee. No, I don’t drink it black, and no, I’m not a coffee connoisseur, but I do very much enjoy a nice, sweetened cup of coffee. I also generally have multiple of these sweetened cups of coffee every day. I was a little worried as to how I was going to get my daily caffeine over here, but very early on, my friend Jake showed me the world of instant coffee and cappuccinos. These are what I’ve had each and every day that I’ve started in Metz. Jake got an electric kettle during the item swap, so that’s been extremely convenient. I just fill it with water, put a spoonful of instant coffee and a spoonful of instant cappuccino in a mug, pour the hot water in, and mix it up (and then add a little milk because I’m weak). Though I drink quite a bit of coffee, I do drink it because I enjoy the taste, and not because I need the caffeine entirely (though I definitely need some of it). Perhaps I should drink more decaf just to be safe. 

Anyway, when I’ve travelled, I’ve also had quite a bit of coffee. In Paris, I had an iced coffee with milk with my caramel crepes. The Airbnb we booked there also had a Nespresso machine, which makes espresso. Espresso alone is extremely strong for me, but I had a couple anyway—one each day. In Belgium, with my dad, the hotel breakfast that was included had an awesome cappuccino and coffee machine. Accidentally, about half of the cups I had were decaf, as I didn’t put together how similar “deca” and “decaf” are. In Interlaken, the hostel also had a breakfast with a nice coffee and cappuccino machine, and I had many cups over two days, as sleep was not a priority. 

I had a couple of friends in Cru study abroad here in the spring, and I got some coffee shop recommendations from them. I hadn’t had any coffee from a café in Metz until today. I really wanted to try out some of the places they recommended, and since I was staying in Metz this weekend, I decided today was a good day to start on that list. A couple of people were leaving for a day trip to Luxembourg, so I asked if they wanted to tag along since the first place, Fox, was right by the train station. They did, so we walked the two miles to the coffee shop. I ordered a vanilla latte and a yogurt with granola and fruit. The two who recommended it, Rose and Brendon, were absolutely right to—it was amazing. The latte was sweet (no complaints here) and the yogurt bowl was refreshing. Everyone else also enjoyed their breakfasts and then they went on their way to Luxembourg and I came back to my room to write this. I can’t wait to continue to try all the places they have recommended. 

A Hike to Switzerland

Interlaken is a favorite destination of Georgia Tech-Lorraine students, and Karsten has some advice for those thinking about going: “Be prepared with outdoor gear, because you’ll want be outside the entire time.”

Monday, September 9, 2019 | Written by Karsten

This weekend a group of us went to Interlaken, Switzerland. When I say a group, I mean essentially all of GTL—there were forty-nine of us in the GroupMe, and although everyone didn’t come, there are only just under ninety undergraduate students here. Interlaken literally translates from German to “between lakes,” and as you might imagine, it’s between to lakes—Lake Brienz and Lake Thun. It is a wildly popular tourist location as it is absolutely stunning, and there are many different, generally extreme, once-in-a-lifetime experiences to be had, including hang-gliding and paragliding, running a mountainous marathon, and ridged hikes.

 

Thursday

Adam Bradshaw, the lone University of Colorado-Boulder student this semester, and I took the train after class to St. Louis (not the one in Missouri) and met up with four other study abroad students in Basel, Switzerland. To get from St. Louis, France to Basel, Switzerland, we just walked across the border, so that was a pretty cool experience in and of itself. We ended up at a Swiss bar to watch the Switzerland-Ireland soccer game, and there were a couple Irishmen there who talked to us for the entirety of the game.

Friday

The six of us left from Basel and went on to meet up with the rest of the group in Interlaken. From the train, we could all see just how insanely blue the water of the lakes was. It was the color of the Glacier Freeze Gatorades. Once we got off of the train, we went on to the hostel that most people were staying at. I think every traveler there was either from GTL or running the marathon that was this weekend. Once we dropped off all of our stuff, a group went kayaking while the rest of us decided to go for a swim in the lake. The water was absolutely frigid, as it was a very cloudy, fifty-five-degree day. Regardless, it was a good time and made for some funny pictures.

Saturday

The main goal of going to Interlaken was to be able to hike up Augstmatthorn, an insane ridge ending in a peak overlooking the lakes. If you’ve seen pictures from a high altitude in Interlaken, they were likely taken here. We weren’t sure if we were going to make it, as it’s deemed an “expert” hike and the weather was very uncertain. We made it up Harderkulm without much of a struggle, but then the rain started and made going rather treacherous. We got to the point where we could turn and head down the mountain or continue all the way. As I hiked in some slip-on Vans (not my brightest idea but funny nonetheless) and the weather seemed like it was getting worse, I was in the group that went down there. All in all, I fell about five times and slipped many, many more, but it was a good time anyway, particularly when I slipped and fell from the path on the way down and somersaulted (but quickly caught myself) and scared the group badly. Once back and changed, we went out for dinner at a fondue place. I was particularly excited for this, as my dad has made fondue at home, and I love it. Needless to say, it exceeded my expectations.

 

Sunday

On Sunday, we headed back to Metz. It was a pretty uneventful trip, but we played Spicy Uno for the entirety of one train ride, so that was a very good time. Once we were back, I edited my pictures from the weekend and reflected, and man, Interlaken is stunning. I highly recommend it to anyone reading this who hasn’t been before, but also be prepared with outdoor gear, because you’ll want be outside the entire time.

Creating the Nearly Perfect School Schedule for Travel

What goes into a semester schedule at Georgia Tech-Lorraine? Let Karsten walk you through the thought process in his latest blog post!

Thursday, September 5, 2019 | Written by Karsten

When I make my class schedule for a semester, I normally try to get my classes all in the range from 9 am to about noon and make the beginning of the week heavier than the end of the week. However, this semester, I knew I would want to make my schedule a little different. Because Georgia Tech knows that students who take part in this program want to travel a lot, they give students Fridays off, for the most part, in the spring and fall semesters. The exceptions come on bank holidays and other reasons that we would have Monday off. In these cases, our Monday classes get pushed to the Friday of that week. I knew I wouldn’t want to take only electives while studying abroad, but I also did not want to take an entire course load of engineering classes. I settled by scheduling three classes that are required for my major, one class that will eventually complete my humanities requirement, and one 2000-level elective. I could have found a computer science class that begins the respective minor, but I’m still unsure if I want to do that. I talked to my advisor and the required classes that she recommended I take while abroad were ME 3322 (Thermodynamics), MATH 3670 (Probability and Statistics with Applications), and ECE 3741 (Instrum and Electronics Lab). It worked out well that Thermodynamics meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 am, Probability and Statistics meets on Mondays and Wednesdays at 3:30, and Instrum and Electronics Lab meets on Wednesdays at 9:30, and none of these hinder travel in any way. For Electronics Lab, it was convenient that I had taken the lecture part of the class (ECE 3710) in the spring, so I have some of what we’ll talk about in my recent memory. Since the other two classes are not required courses for my major, I had a bit more leeway with what I chose. I knew I wanted to begin getting my humanities out of the way and I was likely going to take a language, so since I am studying in France, I chose FREN 1001 (Elementary French 1). French class meets on Mondays and Wednesdays at 2 pm, which means I would have to be back earlier, but it’s unlikely that I would be getting back that late on a school day anyway. Lastly, I picked Science and Technology in the Modern World (HTS 2100) because it is a study of European regions and because it begins to fill up my 2000 level electives. This class meets on Tuesdays at 12:30, and therefore also doesn’t affect travel in any way due to lecture, though there are a few fieldtrips that occur on Friday throughout the semester. A normal week for me this semester starts at 2 pm on Monday and ends at 9:30 on Thursday, which technically gives me 100.5 hours per week to travel out of 168 total hours in a week. Though I won’t be using all of this time to travel, as school does come first, it is reassuring to know that if I have an easier week ahead, I can make some pretty ambitious travel plans and still make it back with plenty of time for class. 

A Race to Belgium

Karsten is an avid Formula 1 fan, and he was able to attend the first race back from their summer break at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, which was an exciting and sobering experience. See his photos and learn more about the sport in his latest blog post.

Monday, September 2, 2019 | Written by Karsten

This past weekend was the weekend I’ve been looking forward to since I first decided to study abroad. I knew that in any given semester at Georgia Tech Lorraine, there would be a Formula 1 race in continental Europe, but because I chose the fall semester, Formula 1 would be just returning from their summer break, and the first race back is always at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps just so happens to also be my favorite racetrack in the world, so I knew I had to go, so my mom and I started to plan it. I wasn’t sure who I’d be going with, whether someone from here, my cousin, who I’m really close to and also enjoys cars, or my dad, who I got my passion for cars and racing from. My dad ended up making the trip across the pond because my mom had a bunch of miles that he could use. This ended up being the best option, as neither I nor my cousin nor anyone here is old enough to rent a car, but my dad is. This cut three hours off of the travel time.

Skipping over some details about the trip over and the practice sessions, we arrived at the track on Saturday to watch F3, F2, and Porsche Supercup qualifyings, as well as the final practice session, qualifying for Formula 1, and the first F3 and F2 races. On any given Formula 1 weekend, all of these take place. Formula 1 cars are the fastest. F2 cars, or Formula 2, are next, followed by F3 and finally Porsche Supercup. Call me a fake fan if you like, but I don’t know much about the F2, F3, or Porsche Supercup drivers or teams, but my dad and I do keep up with Formula 1 pretty religiously. It was still very cool to see the qualifyings of these series as that was the first truly competitive driving of the weekend, since it sets the order of the grid for the races. Formula 1 qualifying happened next, and as had happened so far during the weekend, our favorite team, Ferrari, qualified first and second. The joy that followed was soon transformed into gloom, as during the final event of the day, a massive accident occurred which resulted in broken bones of one driver and the passing of Anthoine Hubert.

As you might be able to expect, the mood of spectators and drivers alike on Sunday was rather dampened. However, all races except the final F2 race (the crash the day before happened in F2) still took place. The Formula 1 race is always the most anticipated event of any race weekend, and therefore happens last. Both Ferrari drivers escaped the first corner accident that so often happens, and they stayed first and second for the first stint of the race. On lap 19, the number of Anthoine Hubert, there was a touching moment where everybody watching the race stood and clapped for the entirety of the lap. Fast forward to the end of the race, Charles Leclerc, a Ferrari driver won his first Formula 1 race, and Sebastian Vettel, the other Ferrari driver brought home fourth. After the race, on the way back to our shuttle, my dad and I noticed that there were lots of people on track, and we managed to find out how to get on the track, so we took pictures on the start-finish line. That was definitely one of the highlights of my weekend.

Even though a tragedy occurred during the weekend, I’m so glad to have been able to go to my first Formula 1 race in nearly fifteen years, and that I was able to experience it with my dad.

Managing Time with Travel (Part One)

Georgia Tech-Lorraine students travel a LOT, but it’s a great way to learn time management and prioritization. Karsten has a plan in place so that he can do as much as he can while abroad!

Sunday, September 1, 2019 | Written by Karsten

Normally, when at school, I try to think about actually doing school as little as possible. While this isn’t always the smartest idea, I’d much rather hang out than do schoolwork, and therefore I can only really do schoolwork when I’m alone. Now that I’m here in France, I have even more distractions. It seems like all anybody can think about is where they’re going to travel next, and I’m the same way. Luckily, as with any typical semester, the first couple weeks—or first full week, in this case—are usually pretty slow, with the occasional homework assignment needing to be completed. Because of this, I’ve been able to make new friends, take lots of pictures (and stay on top of editing them), get the recommended eight hours of sleep, and yes, travel in both of my first two weekends (I’m currently writing this in Belgium).

The classes I’m taking this semester are Thermodynamics, Probability and Statistics, Instrum and Electronics Lab, French 1, and Science, Technology, and the Modern World. The most worrying ones are the three that are mandatory to graduate as a mechanical engineer: Thermodynamics, Probability and Statistics, and Instrum and Electronics Lab. These classes, though fair according to past students, will be very difficult to get an A in if I don’t take them seriously and make time to review the material. Thermodynamics is a flipped classroom, so in class we’re solving problems and outside of class we’re watching lectures. There are eighteen evaluations to be completed throughout the semester, and if they all get completed successfully, we get an A. Probability and Statistics is heavily based on the midterms and the final, but if I’m able to stay on top of the homework and not miss any classes, it shouldn’t be too difficult. Instrum and Electronics Lab is based around lab quizzes and lab reports, so if Jake and I are able to get the labs done in class, we should be set. French 1 will be the most useful class I take while I’m in France, because, well, I don’t know any French yet. Maybe by the end of the semester, I’ll actually understand what’s going on around me. Lastly, as long as I stay up to date on my readings in Science, Technology, and the Modern World, the class should be manageable.

The method of attack that I think is best for managing my time is to get as much work as I can done during the first three nights of the week, and then doing my reading, writing, and eventually studying while I’m on the train. So far, that’s what I’ve done, and it seems to be like the best idea. Hopefully, by managing school this way, I’ll be able to keep my stress levels low and stay ahead on my work (although I already feel a little behind—hopefully I can work to feel caught up this week).

A Trip to Paris

Karsten and friends made the trip to Paris last weekend to celebrate the first weekend of the semester, and even scored some amazing seats to a PSG game! Check out his blog.

Monday, August 26, 2019 | Written by Karsten Messer

Though this was the first weekend abroad and I hadn’t really explored downtown Metz much, I wanted to go elsewhere. I flew into Paris, as did most people on this study abroad, but I had never been there before. I didn’t think many people would be interested in going out of town in the first weekend, so I expected to go by myself or with one of the only guys I knew coming into Georgia Tech Lorraine, Jake Tjards (a fellow member of Cru). However, when I mentioned in passing that I wanted to go to Paris this weekend, others also seemed interested, so we began planning. Everyone that went had a couple of things that they especially wanted to do, and because there were eight of us, we had a pretty good list of things to do. My two bucket list events were seeing the Eiffel Tower and going to my first European football match. On Thursday night, we bought our tickets for the train and the game, and we booked our Airbnb. 

Day One

Once we got to the train station and got all of our Eurail passes activated, we waited for the track to be listed, which doesn’t happen until twenty minutes before the train arrives. Once it was listed, we went to the tracks and it seemed like it wasn’t there. However, about one minute before it left, we realized that it wasn’t pulled all the way into the station, but it was there, so we bolted to the doors and somehow all made it. We arrived in Paris and began getting to our itinerary – with the first stop being a bakery.

After we had some of the best pastries of our lives, we walked to the Louvre (more on that later) and then into the Sainte-Chapelle—and immediately back out because we’re all on a budget. Next, we walked by the sad sight that is the Cathedral Notre Dame, as we were able to see the severe damage caused by the fire earlier this year. The last thing that we had scheduled was the Pantheon. We made a spur-of-the-moment decision (heavily influenced by me for photography purposes) to go to the Montparnasse Tower to watch the sun set over the cityscape. It was an absolutely incredible sight. Once the sun had gone down, we made the three-mile walk back to our Airbnb, which put us at fifteen miles for the day.

Day Two

On day two, we woke up, went and got more pastries, and went back to the Louvre. Honestly, I was not very excited to go as I am not a museum person at all. However, this was one of the best museums I had been in (at least recently), and I definitely enjoyed it. My favorite part, though cliché, was seeing the Mona Lisa. After, we went and got crepes for lunch and then went to see the Arc de Triomphe. I very much enjoyed walking through the insanely wealthy Champs-Élysées on the way, which was filled with stores I’ll never buy from and half a million-dollar cars. From there, we headed to see the Eiffel Tower up close and then on to the Parc des Princes for the PSG vs Toulouse game. We managed to get tickets in the third row of a first level section for less than fifty euros. After getting my biggest lens confiscated (taken to the bag check), it was a very fun and unforgettable experience. I thought Atlanta United games were loud and hype, but honestly, I’ve never been to a game that compares to the Parisian Ultras at this game. To top off the experience, PSG beat Toulouse 4-0, with all four goals being scored in the side we were sitting on.

Conclusion

Overall, I’m very glad to have gotten to go to one of the biggest cities with a rich history in the world as a way to ease in to travelling around Europe via the train system. It was extremely cool, and I hope to go back and see what I missed before I leave (though we walked thirty miles in two days, we couldn’t have missed too much).

Arrival, Orientation, and Excitement!

Check out the first blog from Karsten – the new Georgia Tech-Lorraine student blogger for the fall – on his thoughts and emotions as he traveled across the Atlantic for the first time!

Wednesday, August 21, 2019 | Written by Karsten

Overview

Forty-eight hours have passed since I arrived in France, which means that seventy-two hours ago, I was asleep in my bed at home. Since Sunday morning, I have packed, flown solo for the first time, forgotten every bit of French I thought I knew, eaten six croissants and five pain au chocolat in a very short time frame, slept for a total of fifteen hours, and have frequented the Cora hypermarket more times than I care to admit.

Travel

Travelling without family or friends for the first time is definitely stressful, especially when going overseas. Even though I have traveled several times in my life, I second guessed myself and my flying experience. Thankfully, I flew out of Augusta Regional Airport, which only has six gates, and is therefore never crowded and would take a talented individual to get lost in. Once I connected in Charlotte, however, it was a different story. I needed to go from Terminal E to Terminal B, so I traveled all the way across the Charlotte Douglas International Airport only to find that the flight had been delayed and moved minutes before boarding should have started. Terminal D, all the way back by E, was my new destination. Once we boarded, the flight was uneventful and we landed on schedule. This was where I met up with other students going to Georgia Tech-Lorraine for the first time. There were ten people from GTL on my flight, so we went through customs and found our bags as a group. We somehow managed to find our meeting location for the shuttle without anyone speaking a word of French.

Arrival at Lafayette

The shuttle to Lafayette, where we are housed, took roughly three hours. When I stepped off of the shuttle, I was met with gorgeous weather. A dramatic drop in humidity and the shift from Atlanta’s ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit to Metz’s seventy-five was a welcome surprise. Long sleeves and hoodies are quite comfortable to wear outside. That night (Monday August 19, 2019), there was a pizza party encouraging us to meet new people. Everyone I talked to seemed excited to be here, despite the exhaustion from jet lag and general travel fatigue.

Orientation

Tuesday morning, everyone went to the building neighboring Georgia Tech-Lorraine campus and had coffee, juice, croissants, and pain au chocolat, which I had more than my fair share of. We then went into the auditorium and heard multiple presentations, covering the topics of safety, school, research projects, and more. It was a miracle that no one fell asleep. After, some faculty took us on tours, though it seemed unnecessary, besides which class rooms were where. After all of the introductions and orientation, we had one minute to collect what we wanted from a donation pile that previous students had left. This was the most nerve-racking thing that has happened so far, as we were supposed to grab stuff that we didn’t have but that we needed. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize what exactly I needed until after this event took place.

Thoughts

I’m ecstatic to have the opportunity to study abroad and to get to see so many of the places and events that I could have only dreamed of seeing before, but I’m also sad that I won’t see my family and friends from Georgia Tech and from home for so long. However, thanks to modern conveniences such as FaceTime, calls, and texts, I’m only really a call (and spotty service) away. I’m looking forward to being immersed in French culture and being able to call France home for a semester, as well as making friends with people whom I probably would not have otherwise met.

One Last, Wholesome Blog

It’s time: Noa’s last blog has arrived, and she’s so happy to report that she wouldn’t change a thing. Read her semester-in-review!

I am home!!! It feels so good to be home, and after about a week being back, I’ve had time to reflect, see my family, and eat every one of my favorite meals in a dangerously short amount of time.

It’s really difficult to summarize the experience I had abroad. I tried to do it through blogs, stories, phone calls, or simple conversations with friends, but I don’t think it’s possible to fully describe my semester. The strange emotions, the stresses, the calm, the people, the foods, or the quick cultural adjustments with visiting a different country almost every weekend. I’ve never felt more confident, but simultaneously more insecure in my entire life. I’ve never been more unplanned yet planned, more happy yet sad, or felt more like an imposter while also feeling like I one hundred percent belonged. This entire experience was one big juxtaposition but that is what I loved most about it.

If I had to go back and do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve always lived my life trying very hard not to regret anything because I genuinely believe there is no point. I think sometimes about the people I would’ve met, or the things I would’ve done had I made one simple decision differently. But I also make sure never to dwell on it, because every single moment made my experience (while sometimes challenging) really incredible.

I think the hardest thing about this time was the unknown, but when I think about it, that is always the most difficult thing for me to deal with in life itself. If anything, this experience taught me to be more open to the unknown and try to let things go because I genuinely am not in control of everything. Things happen, and how I adjust to them and grow as an individual is way more important than the little blip that they may cause. That being said, I am still not sure about a lot of things, and that is completely okay. I wasn’t expecting this trip to be some religious awakening, but I did want to learn some things about myself, and I feel like I most definitely did.

The number one thing I learned about myself, is that I don’t need to be stressed. I am quite a stress ball and always have been but I learned pretty quickly that I can still do a lot without feeling stressed. I also learned and would recommend this to anyone travelling with lots of people: it is most important to do what you want to do, because otherwise there is no point in going abroad in the first place.

Quick side note – this blog is definitely a lot more wholesome than my other blogs, but I kind of grew tired about summarizing my trips near the end here. I did go to Spain and Nice during my last two weeks before finals (which went well for those who were concerned, considering it appeared as if I never was in school). I basically just ate a lot and laid in the sun for hours on end.

Anyway, the last most important part of my time abroad was that I gained really good relationships with people back home. I know you must be thinking, “wow you weirdo, shouldn’t you have made friends abroad?” And I definitely did make some friends who I hope to see again in the future. But I think that most importantly I learned who in my life is there for me and how important it is to stay in touch with those you love. I probably called someone back home every single day and while I was worried before I left that I would lose those connections, most of them grew way stronger. I am so incredibly thankful for all these people that stayed in touch, whether it be a single photo sent or the fact that they just read my blog. It is so easy to be kind, and it is also so very necessary. I appreciate people’s kindness more than anything, and I believe that moments of kindness were what made my time abroad the most memorable.

To sum it all up, I genuinely am really happy that I went to GTL. A year ago when I started considering going abroad, it really seemed impossible. The price tag alone made me laugh, the idea of leaving this comfortable life was downright stupid, yet for some reason I knew that I could and should do it.

I’m happy. I’m exhausted. It doesn’t even feel real. But I am thankful and feel blessed.

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Noa