I think the most rewarding and interesting thing that I have experienced while studying abroad is the experiences that I have with my friends. I have been fortunate enough to visit Europe several times and have seen a lot of the big tourist destinations. These experiences have been very informative to me but have also given me a lot of preliminary information for this study abroad. For example, I have already visited Versailles, but seeing it with different people and friends is something that I am looking forward to. I am also fortunate enough to have some great friends on this trip and being able to experience very nice things about Europe is awesome. Having so many people that I know on this trip was not planned. To be honest, I wanted to get an authentic study abroad experience where I did not really know the other students in the program. Although this did not happen, I feel very lucky to have these people on this trip. It just so happened that some of my best friends decided to sign up for this exact same study abroad and everything worked out perfectly. I think my favorite parts of this trip have been navigating train stations, walking through small Paris neighborhoods, and hiking along random mountain trails in Switzerland. Having the opportunity to experience Europe, and especially Strasbourg with friends my age is a once in a lifetime experience. I feel like if I were to do the same trip with my family, it would be completely different. I have found myself completely changing weekend plans and doing random activities on a whim. This is all to show that this would only be possible on this study abroad. In short, doing small things with great friends leads to a fantastic trip.
