When I decided to study abroad, I knew that I wanted to travel outside of London a bit to experience other cultures in the U.K. and in Europe.
I had hoped to find a friend or two that would like to travel with me as well so that I wouldn’t be in unknown places by myself. What I did not know was that CAPA works with a local tour group that arranges organized tours for study abroad students. So far, thanks to CAPA and a few of my good friends, I have had the privilege to travel to several locations and I plan to see at least 2 more before my semester is over! Through CAPA and the tour company I have been able to spend a weekend in Paris and another in Ireland. In Paris, we were able to visit iconic landmarks such as the Eiffel tower, The Arc de Triomphe, The Louvre, and Musée d’Orsay. I also plan to go with the tour group for weekends in Amsterdam, Bruges, and Budapest. I have also traveled on my own with my friends. One of the friends that I have made in my program won two free tickets for a tour to Oxford and Cambridge. They knew I was a HUGE Harry Potter fan so they invited to go with them. We had so much fun exploring the towns and visiting the MANY colleges that make up Oxford and Cambridge. I also went with this friend and 3 others to Florence and Milan for our fall break. We had so much fun just wandering the cities, eating amazing Italian food, and getting by on the very little Italian that we knew.
My friends also pushed me out of my comfort zone in Italy by making me experience the life night around Florence. They took me to a pub where we all got a local beer that came with a lollipop. It was very weird tasting in my opinion, but I’m happy I tried something new. After the pub they took me to a club for study abroad students. It had a live band that was playing popular American songs. One of my friend refers to it now as “the place that looked like America, but wasn’t America” because if it wasn’t for some people in the club speaking Italian I could have thought I had walked into a club in America (but I had also never been to a club before this so that’s not saying very much). I’m so thankful to my friends for making me experience all of the places we have traveled to the fullest.
There are so many wonderful places in this world. Each is unique and exciting in their own way. If it wasn’t for Rollins and their commitment to helping their students acquire a global education, I would not have been able to see and learn about so much world history and culture. I feel I have grown as an individual and I have gained a much greater appreciation for what each culture contributes to our society.