For Future Abroad Aggies – Elena Macia

After the trip, I have already told multiple of my friends and family to start looking into when they can study abroad as it was genuinely life-changing. The first thing I say is how eye-opening the experience was. I learned so much that I truly did not even know what was out there. In all honesty, the first thing I would show my friends to try and express how beautiful and fun Italy was would be one of my Instagram highlights called “abroad.” It has thirty pictures and videos of my absolute favorite locations and activities I did while studying in Florence. I would tell a potential study abroad Aggie about the friendships you make with the students as well as the strangers. Traveling to another country and befriending the other students on the trip who were originally strangers helps increase confidence and social skills. I had experiences on the way home from Italy I would have never had without the lessons I learned there. On my first flight home from Florence to Paris, I had an hour-long conversation with a 50-year-old man born in the US who studied business law until he moved to Paris and lived there for decades to finally become a musician. He told me all about his path regarding learning multiple languages, traveling as a musician, becoming a preacher in another country, and even the passing of his father. This conversation meant so much to me as it proved my time abroad changed me. Then, on my second flight home from Paris to Houston, I made a friend. The 14-year-old girl next to me was born and raised in Paris and was moving to Houston for the next 3 weeks with a host family. We talked for hours and it was truly the best conversation I could have had on the way home. She taught me French phrases and words and we giggled at each other’s accents. She asked if I rode a horse and we taught each other so much. We exchanged numbers and Instagrams and are planning on checking in with each other to make sure she is doing well here in Houston, TX. It was truly one of the best times. I would tell future abroad Aggies about the change of perspective you incur on other cultures and peoples, but especially about the heart you grow for others and the desire to learn more about everything.