I Traveled Outside the Country for the First Time and BY MYSELF!

Would you believe me if I said the first time I went out of the country was when I studied abroad for a month in France? 

Well...it definitely took some guts for me. Being 9 hours away from my mom and dad was definitely hard on me.  Dealing with a 6 hour time difference between France and home was strange because when I would call home they would be just waking up and I would be almost done with my day...weird right?

However, even though I was nervous about being out of the country for the first time (and especially by myself) I am so glad I went, and I hope if you all take the time to read this, you can do the same!

 In April 2017, I was going through a very hard time in my life and I was struggling to find self love. However, deciding to go to France with a group of 9 Loyola students all living in different host families was such a humbling experience and I really got the chance to explore myself and explore the world around me.

The south of France is a place I would've never thought of going to but in true reality I loved it even more than Paris! Montpellier is near the Spanish boarder of France and is about 30 minutes from the beach. Having a major southern French city around me and the shoreline so close to my disposal, I was able to explore when I wasn't in class for the 3 hours I did a day. 

I didn't know it then, but on the trip I met one of my best friends! Olivia and I became "travel buddies" and ended up doing most of the exploring just the two of us (which was so much nicer having a small group to travel with!). We also met a few international friends, more specifically from Germany! They were in the same program as us also studying French. I can't stress enough how amazing it was meeting friends from another country and we were united knowing the French language! I still keep in touch with them today!

Plus, the FOOD WAS AMAZING! Every day after class, my friends and I would go to happy hour at cafes around Montpellier.  We got food anywhere from crepes, croissants and the best ice cream! Trying new foods was one of my favorite parts of the trip!

In order to get new, exotic foods, that meant we had to travel to other places outside of Montpellier! A few of my favorite places we traveled were to Arles, Les Baux, and Sète (as pictured below). A few oceans, caves, crêpes, villages and castles later...all 3 of those cities definitely made my list of top places to visit in France!

Arles

Les Baux

Sète

Finally, when it was time to depart Montpellier, we had the opportunity to spend 3 days in the City of Love! I will probably write a whole new blog post just about the shopping, but Paris was such a beautiful place to visit with such rich history.

And speaking of history, here comes the history geek in me again because my favorite part of the whole trip was going to Versailles! As an European historian, the palace was such a humbling experience for me. The fact that it was a main site of the French Revolution had me in tears (yes...really.) In order for me to take that experience in, I actually spent most of my time at Versailles by myself and I got everything out of it I could've ever imagined.

Well, that was my FRENCH experience! Studying abroad is something I would recommend to everyone! I loved it so much that I am going to Germany for a full semester this fall! I can't wait to explore a new type of European culture!

-Jenna