This will be my 100th blog post since being in Europe, and I wanted to take the time to just reflect a little on my experience here.
Coming to Europe in January, I was extremely nervous about traveling by myself. The farthest I had ever traveled by myself was from New York City to Geneva, NY on a Greyhound bus. Hardly an extensive journey. Waiting at the gate at Newark, I thought my nerves would be so much calmed had I gone with my mother or sister. Alas, that wasn't the case; I had to go it alone.
The first three weeks of traveling that I did was such a memorable experience. London was an awesome city, but made less fun by the fact that I was alone most of the time. Plus, in the winter it's pretty dreary. Rome is a gorgeous city, that I had a ton of fun running around with my friends Gina, Elizabeth and Tra. Those three were a blast to hang out with and make some solid memories while in the city. The next stop, Paris, is where I've arguably had the most fun in Europe. I spent a lot of fun times with my friends Cait and Willy. Both showed me everything that was important to see in Paris, even the unknown spots. I am eternally grateful for their friendship and hospitality. Love them! Anyways, the next stop was Maastricht.
Maastricht has been a fun city to study in. They city itself is has so much to offer, though not necessarily at first glance. The students here, for the most part, are extremely friendly and easy to converse with. I've met a lot of other people on exchange/abroad that I will absolutely stay in touch with. I'm even thinking of planning a trip back to Europe next Winter, and seeing if I could meet up with friends wherever they are - even if they're in a small town - because making memories with friends is always amazing.
A lot has happened to me and to the world whilst I've been away from home. The Arab Spring really kicked off in January and is still continuing in Libya, Yemen and Syria. The U.S. found and killed Osama bin Laden several weeks ago, after almost ten years. Today, Ratko Mladic, the most sought after Serbian war criminal, was captured. Most interestingly, to me, is that there have been some new revelations about New York City.
The city, last Winter, declared that the Queensboro Bridge, which everyone already called the 59th Street Bridge, would now be named after former-mayor Edward Koch. Lastly, today I came across a
NY Times article which now says that the Van Wyck expressway (one of the most major expressways in Queens) has for years been pronounced incorrectly. If you're from NYC, definitely the case if from Queens, you've pronounced Van Wyck as 'van wick' as in 'sick', but it apparently should be pronounced 'van wike' as in 'bike'. The latter is the more correct Dutch pronunciation, but the even more correct Dutch pronunciation is to call it 'van weig' as in 'leg'. This post has gotten exponentially longer than usually, so, I will end this here with a few last words.
Spending time in Europe has been an amazingly memorable experience. Though this is cliche and overstated, I have met people that I will always stay in touch with and have had memories that will always stay with me.
