After a week of being home, I have had a lot of time to reflect on my four weeks abroad. I miss it so much already, and I still cannot believe everything I was able to experience in just four weeks.
One thing I learned, both from experience and a lesson we had in class, was that different countries really do have different communication styles, even if it does not seem apparent. Many people in France had a very direct style of communication. However, when visiting England, I noticed that there was generally a more indirect style of communication. Being aware of this caused me to step back and consider the way I spoke to people, and how people in different cultures may interpret it differently.
On the trip, we also got to meet students from France and share the perceptions we had about people from each of our home countries. Many of these perceptions were crushed very quickly, and it was interesting to see how the stereotypes we have of different cultures are quite often wrong. I am so grateful to have met these students, as some of us connected outside of a class setting to hang out and get to know each other better. I hope to stay in touch with these new friends, despite the long distance.
I also got the chance to make lifelong friendships, which I may not have made otherwise. It is so shocking to me that many of these people on the trip are in my same major, but I did not know them prior to the trip. Even if I had the chance to meet them in the future, we likely would not have become as close as we did on the trip. Sharing experiences so unique as a trip abroad is something that really bonded us, and I am so grateful for this.