One Year Later: A Study Abroad Reflection

Hi everyone!

So, today marks the one year anniversary of the day that I stepped off the plane at Heathrow Airport in London and made a dream that I had been dreaming since I was 15 come true! It really felt weird to start my semester at WKU a couple of days ago. I feel like I should be going back to England this fall. The whole fall semester last year was honestly so surreal. I would change some things, but overall I believe that everything that happened during and after the experience has made me grow as a person. That's one of the things that I wanted to be honest. I wanted to say a year later that I had become more grown up than I was before. I had never lived anywhere but home with parents for my first eighteen years of life. I had to be away for my birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas (which was a little better because my parents and sister were there for that holiday), but I missed all of our normal family traditions. I definitely won't be taking any of those experiences for granted ever again. In fact, I've learned in the last few months that I really don't need to take anything for granted on a day by day basis. You really never know when it will be the last time you see someone, do something, or go somewhere.

I'm back to blog! I think this is super exciting because that was one of my favorite parts of studying abroad, which I will expand on later. I've been wanting to write this post for a few months now, but I figured that I needed to wait until the one year anniversary to see if I still felt the same way about the lists that I am about to share.

I make lists. It's what I do. I suppose it's part of my organizational psyche.  So, I have compiled a few lists with five things each. They include my top five places, five things I learned from studying abroad, and five new goals that I still have or have set for myself since being home.  Without further ado, here are my lists!

The Top 5 Places I Went

I have very meticulously narrowed down a list of the top five places that I visited while living at Harlaxton. It was extremely difficult, but I'm happy with my list! 

 

1.  London

 Here's the thing. I was most excited about going to London. I had dreamed about walking the streets of London for a long time. I did go to London on three separate different occasions during my four and half months in England, and I probably would've gone more, even just for a day, if I could do it over again. London is one of those places that I had a gut feeling about. I knew that I would love it. I knew that it would feel like home. It did, which didn't surprise me. I can't wait for the day that I get to set foot on London streets again.  

2. Cheshire

If I ever live in England, I will either live near London or most likely, in the beautiful county of Cheshire. Everything about it reminded me of home. The picture above looks like something I would take in my hometown except Cheshire is a smidge greener than home. Also, it's close to the next the place on my list.

3. Liverpool

Yes, we did all of the touristy Beatles things in the city, but this is actually the city that I am most excited about going back to. Liverpool, the city, was incredible. I would definitely live there. It was a big city, but felt quite small, like most places in England. It was a beautiful place to visit. I mainly just love England the most in general. It was autumn from the time I got there until December, which made me love the country even more.

4. Paris

I was actually very nervous about Paris. I wanted to like it, but I didn't know how it would compare to London. I was pleasantly surprised. Walking around Paris and admiring that beautiful architecture was one of my favorite things all semester.  Also, Parisian food was hard to beat. Yes, even escargot.  The Eiffel Tower wasn't too bad either. ;) By the way, I still don't know what my hair is doing in that extremely touristy picture.

5. Venice

Venice was my favorite Italian city because....well, look at it. It's gorgeous, and the canals and the living arrangements there blow my mind. It's on the top of my 'take my family to' places. If you ever go, you must do a gondola ride. I feel like you don't get the touristy Venetian experience unless you do it. If you can find some more people, it's actually not that expensive. You're only Venice once, just ride on a gondola! It's a magical place.

5 Things I Learned From Study Abroad

This list is going to be a little bit deeper than the last one.  I learned a whole lot during my study abroad experience. I even continued to learn after I got home.

1. You Only Live Once

I've never been one to use YOLO, but I think that in this case, it's necessary. You really do only live once as far as we know. Make the best of it. Don't worry about what other people think. Honestly, if you're doing a life changing experience like studying abroad, it's about one person: yourself. Be selfish for once in your life. Do this for you and only you. Don't do something just because someone else does it. It has to be what you're passionate about, not what your neighbor or friend is passionate about. Work hard, and make your dreams come true. 

2. Don't Take Your Family for Granted

Family is one of the most important aspects in my life. Without their support and advice, I would've never been able to do this in the first place. I thought when I left that I would be very homesick, but the truth was, I was too busy to be homesick. This was true until things started to slow down after the Paris trip. Thanksgiving dinner made me extremely homesick. One of the biggest things that was reiterated during and after study abroad was that no matter what you go through, your family are always going to be there for you, they will always be your best friends, and you will never be alone when you have your family around you.

3. Don't Worry

Haha! I would like to see my face one year ago if future me had offered this piece of advice. I am a first class worrier. I get it honest from my Mamaw.   Sometimes, I worry so much that I get physically sick, which I learned in Europe. This is literally one of the only things I would change if I could do it over again.

4. Take Risks

Just say yes. Just do it. Pre-Study Abroad, Bowling Green Alexandria would've have never done some of the things that I did. I'm proud that I did things that I did. I'm still shocked about some of things that I did. They include sleeping at Paddy's Palace in Dublin, walking around the alleys of Edinburgh at night, walking around anywhere at night for that matter, and of course, getting on the (wrong) train in England.

5. Life Changes Like the Weather

Sorry to go all Taylor Swift on you, but it's true. You never know what's going to happen. I used to think that that was scary, but life is beautifully unpredictable. With that comes the hard topic that people change as well. The absolute biggest life lesson I learned from this experience is that people change and people grow apart. Friendly reminder that this is your life, and you can chose who want or don't want in life. It's not something to be bitter about, it happens. People wouldn't grow if this didn't happen. I know that I used to feel confused about friendship and growing apart, but now I know that friendship is a two way street and growing apart is a natural part of life.

5 Goals For the Future

Harlaxton was my goal since I was fifteen years old! That is three and half years of wishing for this experience to happen, and it didn't disappoint. However, I felt a little empty when I got back because my goal had been accomplished. Of course, I have LIFE goals like graduating college, going to graduate school, becoming a neonatal nurse practitioner, getting married, and becoming a mom. These goals on this list are more short-term goals though. I think that those are just as important as life goals.

1. Travel to Three New Places Within the Next Two Years

I definitely want to keep traveling because it's a part of who I am. I want to make sure that I see three new places in the next two years, which I think is a fair goal. Hopefully, one of  those places is New York City.

2. Travel Back To England By 2020

The year 2010 didn't affect me, but I think that 2020 will. I hope that I can say that I've been back to England, my second home, by that year.

3. Keep Blogging

I've been crap at this since I've been back, but it was one of my favorite parts of the semester. I've always found writing something, anything, to be a therapeutic task. It helps you regroup and reflect. It made me so happy to post blogs every week when I was in Europe. I know that I'll have this to look back on.

4. YouTube

Something that has always made me happy was being in front of some kind of audience. Being on camera is one of my favorite things. My family can tell you that from my camera hogging technique of childhood home movies. I loved vlogging in Europe, and I have been thinking of getting back in the YouTube swing of things. I hope to have 100 subscribers in the next year.

5. DeTox

This means that I need to continue to do some life spring cleaning if you will. Any relationship that is healthy, I will keep, even though I am extremely horrible at keeping in touch. Any relationship that I feel is unhealthy for me, I will distance myself from. I want to eat healthier as well, which is part of this. I need to drink as much water as I did at Harlaxton, and I'm slowly but surely working on that again. I just want to be happy and make sure that I am my first priority when it's my time. This is my life afterall.

Once again, I cannot believe that it's been year since I left for Harlaxton, but I am excited about what's to come in the future. As always, thank you for reading.

Tell me in the comments if there are any short-term goals that you have, or maybe you have learned something in the past year that you would like to share with me! 

Thanks again!

All the love, 

Alexandria :)

Family Vacation Part 2: France

Hey everyone!

Happy Thursday!  I'm back to recap the second half of our family vacation at the end of my semester.  The last five days of our trip were spent in France.  I loved Paris when I visited in November and was very excited to go back, but I was also excited to see more of France and also go to Disneyland Paris!

On Friday, the 26th of December, I sadly had to part ways with London early in the morning.  I rode in a black cab for the last time of the semester and made my way to St. Pancras International for our train to Paris.  We waited for our Eurostar to depart at eight in the morning, and soon, we were speeding through the English countryside, under the channel, and into the French countryside.  One of my favorite things about Europe that I will repeat over and over is the proximity to everything.  Within a few hours, you can be in a completely new country doing something so culturally different than what you were doing before.

Cheeky Eurostar selfie

Another selfie...

We were sad that our snack was all gone

When we arrived at Gare du Nord in Paris, we made our way to the RER A train to head to St. Lazare station to catch our train to Bayeux, France.  Dad wanted to see the Normandy things and take a D-Day tour of the American beaches and sites of the famous invasion in 1944 that eventually ended the Second World War.  I, myself, am also a history geek sometimes and was very excited to see these infamous sites and a new place.

We waited and caught our train to Bayeux. Along the way, we had a stressful eight minute train change in Caen, then we were on our way.  (P.S. it's not a good idea to "backpack" through Europe with four large suitcases, three carry-ons, and two backpacks).  The reason we had that much was due to my bags from the four months I was there.  I had told my parents to have extra room, so I could divvy up my things, so my suitcase was under the 50 lb limit.  Next time, we won't have or need to have that much stuff.

Another 20 minutes on a different train, and we were in Bayeux.  We learned the hard way in London that we do not want to walk 15 minutes to our hotel with all of those bags, so we caught a taxi from the train station.

Our hotel was Hotel le Bayeux, and it was a cute, family-owned bed and breakfast with two floors and no lift.  Of course, our room was up the winding staircase.  Our room, as well as the bed and breakfast, was so cute.  There was a queen sized bed for Mom and Dad and a bunk bed for me and Catherine.  We also had a tiny bathroom.  The room over looked the small street that the hotel was situated on, and I fell in love with France.  There is absolutely more to France than Paris, and I have yet to travel to the sunny South (which I plan to visit one day).  I snapped this picture out the window of our room. 

I LOVE FRENCH BUILDINGS

That night, we ventured out and explored the small town.  Really, we were in search of food.  The receptionist at the hotel told us that most places do not open until seven, but we were starving, and there was one place that was open 24/7.  I had the "best burger in the world", which was very good.

Saturday morning, with our stomachs full of the most delicious homemade croissants, we got into an eight passenger van for our tour of the D-Day sites.  The wind was INSANE that day, but the tour was still very good.  We went to a German bunker site called Point du Hoc first.  American soldiers climbed up the cliff to attack German soldiers.

I can't imagine having to climb this cliff

It was SO windy!

The landscape was made this way by bomb craters (Catherine's photo)

Inside a German bunker (Catherine's photo)

After being knocked around by the vicious wind there, we drove to Omaha Beach.  It was incredible to stand on that beach and realize how many brave men lost their lives for so many people.

We went to the American Cemetery after that, which has the beach as its background.   No words can describe the cemetery and so it justice. Catherine snapped some pictures with her fancy camera.

After our tour, we ate at the place that we had eaten at the night before.  It was still delicious.  We walked around more and went in the beautiful Bayeux Cathedral.  The village of Bayeux was so cute, and really was the perfect French village.

Main street in Bayeux

Bayeux Cathedral

We lit this candle for the Colovos family in the Cathedral

Little town, it's a quiet village

We had a great time in Bayeux, but it was time to travel back to Paris.  After our train ride back, the rest of the evening was a NIGHTMARE.  First, our taxi driver pretended like he had no idea what I was talking about while the meter was slowly topping up.  Second, we ended up waiting for our RER train in the sketchiest metro station in Paris, equipped with three French military personnel patrolling the station with huge machine guns.  And last but not least, the food we got at our hotel at 11:30 pm was a microwaved  Croque Monsieur (glorified ham and cheese sandwich) served by a rude bartender.

Needless to say, Sunday was not a day to be going back into Paris and exploring.  We all needed rest, so instead, we slept in and explored Disneyland Paris' Downtown Disney and hotels.  It was just a chill day that was slow-paced and much needed. AND packed full of good, old-fashioned family fun in Disney.

A family selfie a day keeps the doctor away (or something like that...)

I finally got some Minnie ears

You don't know how happy I was to see this sign

Chief Dad in Disney's Sequoia Lodge hotel (Catherine's photo also featuring her pink camera bag that she didn't want to carry)

Reunited with my childhood pal, Magic Mickey

The beautiful Disneyland Hotel

First glimpse of the castle

I think after Sunday, everyone was finally ready to see Paris.  I was ready to be the tour guide for the morning and show them around.  I started my tour off at Notre Dame. Then, it was off to Tuileries, which provides amazing views of landmarks and pretty pictures.  It's one of my favorite parts of Paris.

Notre Dame, this time with a Christmas tree!

The Arc de Triomphe through the Ferris Wheel at Tuileries (Catherine's photo)

We wanted to go into the Louvre museum, but the line looked like it was hours and hours long, and we only had one day in the city!

Why stand in line when you can take a selfie?

 I took them to one of my favorite cafes by the museum for lunch, and then we made our way to the Eiffel Tower.  To get to the Eiffel Tower, the best way is to get off of the metro at the Ecole Militaire station, and keep walking straight until you see the tower, and you will see it.  I loved seeing their reactions when the Eiffel Tower was right in front of them.

Sunny selfie after they got their first glimpse of the tower

This happens to be the cutest picture ever (Catherine's photo)

Me and my sister at the Eiffel Tower!

We had tickets to go to the top of the tower at 3:30, so to pass the time, we got drinks at a cafe by the Eiffel Tower.

I may not be in England, but that doesn't stop my tea drinking

Going to the top of the Eiffel Tower was scary for me because I do not like heights, but it was incredible for views!

Selfie at the top

Awesome picture from the top

The Seine at Sunset, part 1

The Seine at Sunset, part 2

And then, the most awesome part of the trip was when Dad surprised us with a dinner cruise on the Seine.  It was a great way to end a great day in Paris.

view from our table

delicious food added to the experience

Our last day in Europe, we did what the Colovos family does best: DISNEY OF COURSE!!!  Disneyland Paris was soooooo much fun! It was a great way to end the trip.  I have this life goal to visit all the Disneylands in the world.  I've got two down. Now, I just need to go to California, and then try to figure out how to make it to Hong Kong and Tokyo (those might be a little harder to get to).

We started our day at Walt Disney Studios!

Me and Catherine were excited!

Then, it was on to Disneyland Park

Disney Family selfie

Main Street

Selfie with the castle

Castle by day

Castle by night

Fireworks never disappoint

 My unforgettable semester ended with fireworks at Disneyland Paris, and I couldn't ask for anything more!

It was amazing, and I can't find the words to thank everyone and describe how important this semester was for me.

I do have many plans to continue my travels, and I will DEFINITELY go back to England - my home away from home.

See you soon!

Love always,

Alexandria

The Countdown Is On

Hi Everyone!

Since Paris, I've been to London again, hung out with hundreds of seals at Donna Nook, had a bad spell of homesickness, ate a Thanksgiving meal in a huge manor house in England, had my last day of class for the semester, and had a Christmas dinner with my British family in a room covered in gold.

The past few weeks have been incredible, but now it is the crazy time of packing and saying goodbye to friends now.  We have two and half days left at Harlaxton, and that, to me, is bittersweet.  On Thursday, at one in the morning, it's off to Italy.

I've started doing vlogmas, where I will vlog all 31 days of December.  You can follow that adventure, as well as watch previous vlogs on my YouTube here.

The first order of business is recapping the London weekend for you.  The weekend after Paris, we had a British studies field to London.  On the field trip, we visited St. Paul's Cathedral (where Princess Diana was married in that incredible dress). We also went to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.  Friday night, we went to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park for the ultimate christmassy fun!

Saturday, we saw Buckingham Palace, and I finally got to go to Abbey Road and take that cliche but very awesome picture walking across the crosswalk.

Our bed and breakfast was in Hampstead, my personal favorite part of London, so we ate at a pub in Hampstead on Saturday.  Sunday, it was time to get on the train to go back to Harlaxton.  It was a short weekend, but it was great to see places that we didn't get to see the first time.  You can watch the highlights of my second weekend to London here.

The next few weeks brought homesickness along with the holiday season.

My British family, from the Meet-A-Family Experience, took us to the sea to see the hundreds of seals that come there to give birth and find a new mate. It was so amazing to see animals like that in their natural settings just doing their thing.  The pups were so cute too!  I showed footage of this in day one of vlogmas here.

Thanksgiving was when the homesickness started to set in.  I really appreciate the Harlaxton staff for working so hard to provide us with a good American Thanksgiving meal.  They even made us pumpkin pie, a thing that doesn't really exist over here.

What I'm thankful (in the yellow)

However, it was no home cooked Thanksgiving.  I really missed home that day, especially when I called home and saw all of my family making Christmas crafts and eating all of that good food.

Thanksgiving came and went, and soon, it was time to start listening to Christmas music nonstop.  It was time to start doing vlogmas.

This past Thursday night, we had our Valedictory Dinner.  The principal, professors, and staff talked to us about the semester and presented us with certificates and pins that represent that we are part of the Harlaxton Society.  They fixed a wonderful dinner, and afterwards, we watch the Fall 2014 semester recap video, which you can check out here.  Sadly, I never saw the signups for this video, so I am not in it, and I'm very bummed about that.  However, I am very glad that I have been keeping up with my blog and vlogs bacause now I will have my personal memories and experiences captured in words and on video to look back on for the rest of my life.

On Saturday, we had our Harlaxton Family Christmas Dinner. Our meet-a-family came to have dinner with us.  Before we ate, the musicians at Harlaxton played some instrumental Christmas music.  It was really great considering that they were sat in front of Christmas tree, and the fireplace was roaring in the Great Hall.  The choir then sang Christmas songs and encouraged all of us to sing along.  Dinner was buffet-style, and really good.

There were Christmas crackers that contain gifts that you pull to open.  I had never done one before, so that was very fun.  After dinner, we took pictures with our British family and said our goodbyes to them (I'll get to see them in two weeks, so I'm excited to see them again!).

Then, we had a little fun and took pictures with the British Studies professors.  Afterall, our semester wouldn't have been the same without them.

You can see all of that in this video.

So, that's what we've done up until this moment.  My adventure isn't over though! I mentioned earlier that leaving Harlaxton is bittersweet.  It's bittersweet because this semester has been incredible on a personal level.  I've had experiences and traveled to places that I only dreamed of going just a few years ago.  But, I want to see my family again.  I want the familiarity of home. I want to see my puppy, and have home coked food every night.

I will miss Harlaxton and these experiences tremendously just like I miss home tremendously, but I am planning on visiting again someday.  I can't wait to tell stories from over here to friends and family for years to come.  I've also learned a lot over here, which I will elaborate on in a farewell post to Harlaxton coming up in the next couple weeks.

Thank you to all of my family for being supportive and helping me reach this dream.  I can never repay you for what you've done for me.  Thank you to Harlaxton for this unforgettable semester.  You learn a lot about yourself, relationships, and especially people.  I am ready to completely start anew in the new year.  I can't for new experiences, friendships, and memories.

Off to Italy!

Love always,

Alexandria