Home, sweet home

I have been home for a day now, and it's the weirdest thing ever. Not waking up to sunshine streaming through the window, not feeling the insane urge to explore the city, not being able to get into the water to swim or snorkel. It's different. But as the saying goes, home is where the heart is and Boulder is definitely where my heart is. It's a place of comfort, a place where I can always say "I have returned." I will definitely miss Palma and Kralendijk and definitely hope to return to these places one day. Without studying abroad, I would have never heard of Mallorca or Bonaire, nor would I have even given a second thought about going there. There's a reason everyone says to study abroad, and I think that is certainly one of them. A part of me appreciates studying in a larger, more famous city like Madrid or London, but there is something to be said about going off the beaten path, to a place where not many people know about. At the very least, it'sc a cool story I can tell to someone. A lot of me wishes that I had studied abroad a whole semester though. 4 weeks in a location is certainly not enough time to make a city feel like home; in fact, it's just enough time to get familiar with the city to feel comfortable moving around. There was still a lot of Palma and Kralendijk that I did not have the opportunity to see or explore because of class or time constraints. Had I been there for a longer period of time, there would not be such a rush to see and do this, that, and the other thing. Ah well, someone else can learn from my experience I guess. 

I can say with certainty now that I would recommend every student to study abroad. It's such an eye-opening experience, both in terms of seeing new and different cultures, but also in terms of learning about yourself. I learned so much about myself and the way I interact with other people (especially cross-culturally) during my time abroad, and that is something I certainly would not have learned spending a summer at Pitt or sitting at home. If I could, I would definitely go study abroad again in a heart beat. I guess that's something to do in another lifetime. 

For now, this is the end of my adventures abroad. As I always say, a new adventure awaits. But adventure does not always have to mean something new and novel abroad. Every moment of your life can be a new adventure--it just depends on how you view and use your life. So take an adventure today, explore the environment around you, because someone on the opposite side of the world may think its paradise. 

--Andrew Ng