"Travel Far Enough, To Find Yourself"

~David Mitchell
 

Traveling provides you with countless opportunities and adventures. Undoubtedly, we travel to see the world, try new food, meet new people, and so much more. But a significant part of your journey will provide the unique chance to learn more about yourself. Self-discovery is unavoidably a huge aspect of international travel.

Wait, I thought I just got in a new country, and I’m now already planning to leave it?

This is probably a common thought of the study abroad student. Being located in a central city of Europe definitely has the advantage of proximity to other amazing cities, and so a lot of study abroad students like to take advantage of this opportunity while they are here. Although I definitely have not spent all of my weekends out of Rome, I decided to take a few adventures to other countries, and I’m really glad I did.

One of the hardest parts about studying abroad is maintaining relationships with people at home. I would even say it is the hardest part. Everyone deals with it in their own way—some people try to unplug from their life in their home country, others set up regular calling schedules, others keep in touch by text and Facebook messenger. Social media can make things easier and harder—it’s easier to connect, but harder to go deeper.

Around the half-way point of the semester, I had the amazing opportunity to show my family and my best friend around Barcelona. I will admit that I was slightly nervous at first. I had to become their liaison to the city—their experience was completely in my hands! Before their arrival, I planned out a list of all the crucial places I had to take them to in Barcelona. Not only that, but I picked out the best restaurants I’d experienced so far—making sure they got their fix of traditional foods here: pan con tomate, calçots, etc.

I went into this semester knowing—hoping—that I’d learn more about myself. I knew it would be a challenge to live with a host family that didn’t speak any English. I also knew that simply living on my own in a foreign country for four months would be an obstacle on its own. I’m from a small town in central Indiana, so learning to live in a city, a European city, would be a huge transition.

After a 3:45 AM departure Friday morning, we emerged bleary-eyed from the airport in Puerto Montt. Outside the air was brisk and our director Maricarmen donned a full-length parka; the climate in the Lake District is vastly different from that of Santiago. We got on a bus and drove to board a ferry. The trip out to the island of Chiloé was picturesque, with apparently unusually clear skies. After arriving on the island, we stopped on the side of the road at a small group of tents.

As a kid, I played a lot of Madden ‘07. I dominated everybody, from my little sister to my dad (OK, no bragging rights there) because I knew the rules. I knew that I could time my blitz a second early and not be called for a penalty. I knew that if I hit the quarterback (Eli Manning) a certain way, I could completely annihilate him without being flagged. I knew all the “easter eggs,” one might say. Eventually, though, the powers that be at EA Sports released Madden ’08. The rules had changed. My reign of terror was no more.