Entry #2: Final Reflections articulating how your time abroad has changed your perspective and understanding, if any, and how your initial impressions were or were not accurate. (Due within final 15 days in host country) – Jessie Bowie

Overall, this study abroad experience has changed my perspective on the world. I realized just how big the world is. There are so many different cultures, cuisines, and things that I had the opportunity to experience. I am beyond grateful for all of the experiences I had. I think my main takeaway was just how small my little world is. It can be easy to get caught up in the business of our day-to-day lives, but a few countries over, there is an entirely new world.
The trip unlocked my love for traveling, and I’m trying to find the quickest way I can get back to Europe. I loved immersing myself in the different cultures, especially trying all of the different foods. As for my initial impressions, I felt like most of them were fairly accurate. However, after interacting with a woman in London, I realized it wasn’t that they didn’t want to have small talk, it just isn’t a norm for them. I sparked up a conversation with her at a store in Borough Market, and after our conversation, she mentioned how she thought it was funny when I first started talking to her. However, once we were talking, she didn’t mind the conversation.
I’m sure that if I returned to each country I visited, I would learn ten new things each time. And with that, my impressions of the culture may change as well. However, with such quick stops in each country, I do feel that most of my impressions remained accurate. I learned so much during this trip, and I gained an entirely new perspective on the world around me.