Great Expectations
Not going home for a full year is more momentous for me than going to college my freshman year. At Allegheny, I have an existing support system, most of which has existed my entire life. Along with this support comes expectations of who I am and what I should do. Angers marks a new era. I’m speaking a new language and learning a new culture, and at the risk of sounding cheesy, I get to re-discover myself. I’m not re-inventing or completely changing my personality, just exploring those sides of it that have hidden themselves over the years. A fine-tuning, if you will.
Yes, there are the obvious scholarly goals; I want to become as fluent in French as possible, and I want to learn more about France and it’s culture and people. I want to study not only in school, but in the real world (where else can you watch a Frenchman eat a baguette, make awkward gestures, and have an intense cell-phone conversation at the same time?)
In taking time to experience a new culture and a new language, I’m taking time to truly experience and uncover who I am. I get to revel and bask in all of my shortcomings and qualities, and find new ones. It may sound unpleasant and pedantic, but it’s what I’m enjoying the most so far. It's at the top of the list of what I hope to get out of this year of studying abroad: a new language, new experiences, and the real “me.” What a souvenir.