Initial Reflections

Well, it's VERY hard to believe, but in two weeks from tomorrow, I'll be heading down to the airport to pick up my parents from the Marseille airport.

Unfortunately, that means my time in Aix is quickly coming to a close. And all of us are struggling with coming to terms with it. None of us really want to leave here, but we all can't wait to get home.

It's not something where we can say we'll be back soon. Really, the soonest any of us will be back here is roughly five years from now. With how much we've learned and grown since we got here, this is a very bittersweet time of the semester.

Since we are rapidly approaching the end, I thought it was appropriate to begin reflecting on my time here since the end of August. Have I really been here that long???

Mind you, these are all initial reflections upon what I have gained since being abroad. What I have done and what my life has been for this semester probably really won't sink in until a month or so after I get back home.

The first and probably most exciting thing that I have gotten out of this experience has to do with the French language.

I am by no means fluent or bilingual, but had you heard my attempt at speaking French the day I got here and heard how I speak now, you would be shocked at how much improvement I have made.

Even Camille, my host mother, has commented to me about my improvement on several occasions.

I'll be honest, if you had told me before I left Colorado that I would ever be able to speak French this well, I would not have believed you one bit. Might have even called you crazy.

Yet here I am, a little over three months later, able to hold coherent conversations in French, not afraid to go to a French family's house for a casual dinner, excited for the next opportunity I have to further perfect my understanding of the language.

When thinking about my experiences, I have also really reflected upon the opportunities I have had to travel. And those are very well documented in my previous blogs below.

But when I sit there and really consider all of the places I can now say that I've visited, I am absolutely astonished at how well-traveled I have become.

Since coming here I have visited Aix (obviously), Marseille, Nice (twice), La Ciotat, Lyon, Roanne, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Madrid. Add those locations to London, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Germany, and Liechtenstein from my trip to Europe in the Summer of 2008, I have been all over Europe.

I feel so incredibly fortunate to have the opportunities at my disposal to experience these amazing places.

But beyond the simple and obvious achievements I've made, there is one question that I have struggled with since the day I got here: why am I studying abroad?

It'd be a cop-out answer to say that I'm here because it's required by the Daniels College of Business. I do have to be honest, that is part of the reason why I'm studying abroad.

However, there is a lot more to it than that. And it is a lot more complicated.

Of course, as is the case with all of life's endeavors, the point of study abroad has been to grow as a person. But again, I think that's a cop-out answer too.

So why the hell did I study abroad?

When I boarded my plane on August 30th, I had no idea what I was in for. I knew that I was about to go on an adventure of a lifetime, but I didn't know what to expect.

I had no idea that study abroad would completely change my life and cause my life to make a 180 degree turn.

In the month and a half or so prior to leaving the USA, my life had hit rock-bottom. I will spare you the details, but it seemed like nothing was going right for me and I really didn't like the person I was becoming.

Essentially, study abroad could not have come at a better time for me.

Sure, it took some time for these problems to truly go away, but about a month into my French life, all of the problems that I was previously experiencing just sort of started to solve themselves.

Two months ago, for the first time in probably two and a half years, I started to feel truly happy with my life. I was excited about where I was physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

As time has progressed since then, there have been challenges that I faced and there definitely have been a few let-downs here and there, but my life has truly taken a new meaning since coming to Aix.

To be honest, I had no idea that my goal would be to come home with an entirely new outlook on life, but that's the goal that I achieved and I could not be happier.

For the first time in a very long time, I am actually excited to see what the world has in store for me in the coming days, months, and years.

I know I have my goals and would love nothing more than to surpass them. But if there is one thing this study abroad experience has taught me, it is that most things that life may throw at me really won't matter in the long run. And there is much to be said for being able to discern the difference between what does and does not matter.

I know I still have two weeks (well three and a half if you count my time with my family) left of this amazing adventure and I have no idea what they have in store for me. But I am so excited to experience them.

Study abroad has completely changed my life and it happened at a time when a change was needed more than ever.

Now, I know that I haven't exactly kept you updated on what I have been doing here lately, but the good news is, there still hasn't been much to report.

Since returning from Paris, I haven't left Aix except to go on a day trip to Les Baux de Provence and Les Fontaines du Vaucluse with school. That trip was a lot of fun, but there really wasn't much to write home about.

We got to see a couple of very small Provencale towns and do some walking in an absolutely gorgeous area of Provence.

Outside of that, I have been able to spend some more meaningful time in Aix and experience the greatest Christmas market I have ever seen. I promise to post some pictures of the market and the lights next week.

With study abroad drawing quickly to a close, I have had to start thinking harder about what my life is going to be like when I get home. That being said, I have but one request for those of you who live in Colorado: keep those awesome snow vibes going! I want some amazing skiing waiting for me in January!!