Full Circle

I wrote the first post of this blog from the exact couch I am sitting on now. Despite what I may have thought four months ago, I guess things have come full circle.

I think everyone of us who went on study abroad programs expected some experience that would noticeably change our lives. The thing is that didn’t quite happen. It was a fantastic four months and I certainly feel like I can live anywhere after conquering London. But any change that this semester has had on my character is beyond me at the moment. I am sure it had an impact. It was just subtle. Subtly different like the difference between Brits and Americans.

The truth is, the more I traveled in Westernized countries the more I realized that things aren’t so different throughout the world. Big cities are all generally the same. They all have Starbucks and McDonalds. The only difference is that they have unique tourist destinations. (Paris has the Eiffel Tower, London has Big Ben, etc.)

Sure there are some cultural differences and, for example, people in Britain have habits that Americans would find strange. But ultimately those cultural differences aren’t what define us. Does the size of a standard beer really tell much about the individuals of a culture?

We are all people. As a kid that I met in a hostel in Madrid said: “You realize people are all generally friendly and generally nice.” (It’s true: In Vienna a random man helped Joe and I locate our hostel just because he knew we were lost).

Funnily enough, this sameness struck me while listening to conversations in foreign tongues. I used to tune out conversations in other languages thinking the people were speaking about something that had no relation to me. But then I heard a group of girls talking on the metro in Paris. I repeatedly heard the word Facebook. I guess there is no separate French translation for such new terminology. They were having a conversation about nothing all-too different from something I could hear in the States.

Language was supposed to be our biggest divide. But if even words can be broken down then maybe we are closer to a global community than ever before. I am probably just ignorant, but that idea never really struck me until this semester.

I started this whole thing by saying that I wanted to discover just how big the world is. Well I did discover that: in so many ways it is a small world.

Still, maybe that isn’t fair. After all, I only saw one separate continent. On top of that, I only explored the western side of it. I am sure if I went to Africa or somewhere else I would have discovered huge differences. Then again, maybe I wouldn’t have.

It will take some time before I really know how I grew as a person while living abroad. But in the meantime, as I sit in the house that I have spent my whole life growing up in, I realize how this whole experience has reaffirmed my faith in my country, my state, my city and my home. (I don’t mean that in any political or economic manner).

It’s just America has so much to offer. Our cities are just as magical, our countryside is just as beautiful. From a night train I watched the sun set over the French hills and realized I could witness a sight as equally amazing from the New York State Thruway. The more museums I visited, the more I realized how impressive the New York State museum really is.

I am not saying I didn’t appreciate these four months and the experiences they brought, because I did. But I am saying I never realized how much I was taking for granted the places I have already been.

As always:

Comments Welcome,

Andrew