Growing up, my family vacations consisted of going to Wisconsin twice a year and the special occasions in Florida. I had never imagined what it would be like to travel outside of the United States.
During my freshman year at the University of Missouri, the Engineering Department launched a new Short Term Study Abroad program. It was a two week trip with a group of 30 peers in between spring and summer semesters. The itinerary consisted of traveling to Manchester, London, and Paris. It had always been my dream to see the Eiffel Tower. My only connection with London was the Spice Girls, phone booths, and driving on the left side of the road. I had never even heard of Manchester so I was excited to "culture" myself.
The curriculum included us taking evening class to learn about the culture, education, language, and etiquette. We handled all of the classwork before the trip so all we had to do was attend seminars and sight see once we arrived. First things first, I applied for my first passport!
We started our trip in Manchester, UK. Our airplane arrived around 7am so we grabbed some breakfast at McDonald's (of all things) and headed to the nearest bar. We were college students, all under the age of 21 wondering what it would feel like to legally order our own drinks in another country. I remember ordering Amerettto and lemonade the entire trip because I overheard someone else order it.
A few days later, we took a bus to London. On the way to London, we went to the Jaguar Land Rover manufacturing facility. As an Industrial & Manufacturing Systems Engineer, that was AWESOME!! While in London we had the opportunity visit companies such as Boeing, Cerner, and AstraZenica during the day and we saw the London Eye, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, and Buckingham Palace in our free time. The night life in London was great! It was helpful that there was no language barrier. We found a cool underground Karaoke bar, an American bar, and we ate out A LOT!
After about 9 days in the UK, we took the train to Paris. I was excited to go through the underwater tunnel but I fell asleep soon after the train departed. Paris was a culture shock when I realize how little French I knew. All I really knew how to say was Bonjour, Merci, and Par le vous Ingles? Thank goodness, a lot of Parisians also spoke English. We went to the Louve Museum, ate tons of Crepes and went to the Eiffel Tower. Funny Story! When we went to the Eiffel Tower, we stayed for the light show and went to dinner. What we didn't know was that the train stopped running at a certain time. Moral of the story, we got lost in Paris. We took bus after bus for hours until we finally found our way back to the hotel.
My first international experience was nothing short of amazing. It was breathtaking, invigorating, and inspiring. Now I feel entitled to take at least one international trip per year.
Ta Ta for now!
:Kirstin Renee
