February 19th, 2016

Before this semester I had never traveled outside of the country. I never understood when people told me that traveling changes your view of the world. I believed I could find out everything I needed to know about the world from a book or the internet. Although I thought I had all the information at my fingertips, I never utilized it. I took several world history classes in high school but never saw the implications of what I was learning. It was hard for me to grasp the relevance and importance of the history of countries like France and Italy when they were so far away.

Now that I am here in Europe and have had the opportunity to visit several different cities, I am much more interested in the history behind the buildings, memorials, and culture that I am surrounded by. It astounds me that many of the monuments I have visited are hundreds of years older than the United States itself. Understanding facts like this has given me a much greater appreciation for my home country and also for my host country. America has become a dominant world power in a very short time and now impacts many European countries that have been around for hundreds of years before.


I have only been living here a month and a half but I have already realized that traveling does change your view of the world. Before this trip I did not enjoy learning history, but visiting different European cities has made me want to find my old history textbooks in order to understand the history behind the streets I am walking on and the city I am living in. I have quickly gained an appreciation of all the history that lies here in Europe and I have been intrigued to see how America is now helping to create more history for these countries.