My study abroad was unique in that I did not have a single host city, but I traveled to seven different countries. This allowed me to witness many cultural differences in Europe. My first stop was in London, UK and this city was absolutely beautiful. It reminded me of New York City, with the metro line and the Leicester Square area was similar to Time Square. Some cultural differences I noticed while in London were the cars driving on the left side of the road, the speed limits were in km/h, the British pounds have more current political members than many of our U.S. dollars, and I noticed how when leaving the tube, it was customary to stand to the left of the escalator if you did not plan to walk up. The last big difference I noticed was that the traffic lights flash to yellow before going back to green, not just as they go to red.
The next place my study abroad went to was Paris, France. This city was one that I had dreamed of going to for so long, and seeing the Eiffel Tower in front of you felt unreal. On our first night in Paris, we took a Seine river cruise, and the metro line was super busy and you had to manually open the doors at each stop. I noticed how in every restaurant or cafe you went into, you were asked if you had an allergy to anything before even taking your order. Having to pay for water was something new and I learned if you asked for tap water it was free. It was also normal to spend long periods in restaurants and you had to ask for the check for it to be brought to you, and if you paid in cash, you had to ask for the change back or they wouldn’t bring it to you. The largest obstacle while in Paris was the language change to French. I had learned a couple of phrases before I left, and my instructor gave us each a card with some extra words and sayings to make translating easier.
We continued our study abroad in the south of France in Avignon. My first impressions of Avignon were that it looked very similar to the hill country in Austin Texas. It was crazy that the trees and stone around the aqueduct we visited were very comparable to the greenbelts of Texas. The town had many restaurants with large patio space to take advantage of the nice weather. Continuing through the south of France, we had a few days in Nice, France. This was a town along the coast with the brightest blue water. Nice had so many different restaurants that catered to many of the foods I was missing from home. We met many people from Ireland while here, they were all super friendly and all talked about how Nice of beaches are in the south of France. While in Nice, we took a day trip to Monaco and this country was so beautiful. The country of Monaco could fit inside of Central park and could also fit inside of the central campus of A&M! For how many expensive and nice cars we saw, I rarely saw parking lots on the streets, and when I did they were valet only. I also believe many residents line on their yachts in the marina of Monte Carlo. We were fortunate to visit a couple of days before the Monaco Grand Prix, and the entire city was setting up the track and bringing in the race cars.
Our next stop was in Italy where we stayed in Verona. This town still contained many of its old charm and structural elements. We got to take a tour of the Colosseum and the old walls of the city. We took a day trip to Venice and this city was beautiful. With all of the “roads” being water canals, and gondolas for cars, was a super neat element to Venice. My roommate and I took the water taxi to Murano and Burano (neighboring islands in Venice) and although these were very popular islands to visit, many of the streets felt deserted and empty the further in on the islands you traveled. Each island had a special product they were known for. Murano was home to the making of Venetian glass, and Burano was known for its textiles and lace. Some of the cultural differences I noticed were; It is very common for meals to simply be just cheese and meat. Even on occasion that is all they serve, The attire is always nicer clothing, compared to wearing athleisure like in the US, and With the older architecture, many of the buildings were very simple and opted for more small windows as opposed to one large glass wall like in America.
