A Dutch girl. An Italian man. A German girl. A Finnish girl.
A Swedish boy. And me. That’s just the breakdown of the people living in my
apartment, let alone the many different nationalities of the people I’ve met
within my Erasmus Student Network, affectionately known here at LUISS as ESN.
I never knew how popular studying abroad (in Europe called, going on exchange) is! Many of the
students I’ve met from Lithuania and Holland are on their second, sometimes
third exchange in their college careers. It’s amazing to me how they are able
to simply leave everything behind from one school to another in the name of
experiencing new cultures, classes and people wherever they go. Can you imagine
missing Gamecock football or baseball three out of your four years at USC? I
couldn’t.
It took me so long to figure out how these friends I’ve made
can be so seemingly adventurous as they conquer one country after another. For
one thing, the United States is almost two and a half times bigger than Europe
itself. So for comparison’s sake, a Lithuanian student studying in Holland but
going on an exchange in Italy is essentially equivalent to say, a student from
New Jersey studying at the University of South Carolina and doing a semester in
Washington, D.C.
So what’s the difference between being a New Jersey girl
studying down in South Carolina and a European studying in another European
country? Can you imagine travelling to North Carolina and having to change
language, customs and sometimes currency? Imagine going to Florida for Spring
Break and going through two entirely different cultures to get there. While I
love the United States with all my heart, it seems sad that many of the
students at USC won’t get to experience the culture change I’ve been able to
here in Europe. The people I’ve met here have challenged my way of thinking, of
my future plans and goals even.
Being one of the youngest students in ESN (most are here
studying for a Master’s degree) it’s been so exciting to pick each person’s
brain about their undergraduate studies and what they did after their first
four years at university (uni). Some
of these students have mastered between three and five languages, have already
finished one Master’s degree and have seen more of the world than I’ve even
dreamt about.
It’s absolutely inspiring to see the way these European
students live. As an IB student, I never would have expected to learn just as
much (if not more) from my fellow students than my professors. Some have worked
directly for their country’s parliament (and no I don’t mean being a page at
the State building). Some have been published in major economics and business
magazines, held internships with major international business companies, all in
the name of continuous learning. I only hope that in my few short months here I
will be able to acquire some of their knowledge and bring back my experiences
to USC.
Being abroad isn’t just about learning inside the classroom.
It’s the people you meet and the places you visit and the challenges you
encounter that have made this study abroad possibly the best semester I’ve ever
had. I’ve been instilled with a sense of passion and wanderlust, to learn from
not just my international professors, but my international friends. I can’t
possibly put into words just how much I’ve learned about cultural awareness,
the similarities and differences between Europe and America, but I can’t wait
to discover even more.
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