Hello ... from France

[Warning: this blog post contains extreme hints of sentimentality, nostalgia, and overt self-discovery. Proceed with caution.]

Even before college, I always knew I wanted to study abroad. So finally, two and a half months ago, I uprooted my entire life, left my friends and family, the familiarity of academic life at William & Mary, and my unbelievable job as a supervisor at Phonathon, to study abroad in Lyon, France, for the semester. At a pre-study abroad meeting at William & Mary, someone told us that we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into - but that it would be the greatest experience of our lives.

Two and a half months in I can say this much, studying abroad definitely comes along with a basket full of emotions: the good - the excitement and thrill of discovering a new culture - and the bad - the frustration and homesickness that comes along with trying to adjust to a life so different from your own.

Don't get me wrong; choosing to study abroad in France truly has been, by far, the best decision in my collegiate career, maybe except for choosing to come to William & Mary.

But when you just want to make some chocolate chip cookies and can't find chocolate chips anywhere (or pre-packaged cookie dough, for that matter). When you're sick and have no idea how to get the medicine you need or what that medicine is even called in France. When you spend a few hours on the phone with the Internet company trying to fix your Internet and realize you have no idea what the French terminology is for the various technologies and gadgets involved - and I'm still not entirely sure I could tell you the names in English. Or, when you simply find it impossible to express what you want to say in a language not your own.  Experiences like these can leave you discouraged and wanting to go home to the safety of your hometown and your native language, but it is these experiences that stick with you forever, that help you grow, and that make studying abroad the amazing adventure that it is. I would recommend it whole-heartedly.

Yes, I make grammatical mistakes daily, but every day I learn new expressions. I inevitably make some sort of cultural or social blunder on a regular basis, but I am constantly learning about the French way of life - all I have to do is take a look around me. I routinely mispronounce French words, but slowly I find my French accent sounding more and more believable. Thus, in failure, I have learned to learn, to grow, and to see the bright side. I often feel like a small child, exploring an exciting new world around me with a sort of wide-eyed wonderment, naively plunging into the unknown.

To be honest, I still do have moments of homesickness. Last week, I spent over an hour on Skype with Phonathon, and I don't think my colleagues know this, but it truly made my week. I miss both my job and the people there so much. It is one thing to be able to work with an amazing group of students, to watch them grow as students, as callers, and as people, but it is quite another to know each night at work that you are helping, in some small way, to make a difference at William & Mary.  And hey, I guess there aren't too many people who can say one of the things they miss most about college is their job...

Ultimately, despite the pitfalls and homesickness, I wouldn't trade my study abroad experience for anything-to employ the old cliché, I really am having the time of my life. At the same time, I can't wait to get back to the ‘burg for my senior year at W&M!