When coming to college one thing that I knew I wanted to do eventually was study abroad and that was one of the main requirements I was looking for when deciding a university to attend. With my junior year almost coming to an end, studying abroad didn’t seem realistic anymore until I found out about a two week program in two countries, which was perfect timing. Studying abroad of course came with expenses which also made me nervous but with the help of the study abroad office, college of education and my own personal fundraising through GoFundMe raising a little over $3,000, I was able to make it happen. The title of my specific program was called Multiculturalism in a Global Context and I was able to spend a week in London and then a week in Amsterdam. I have never traveled outside of the country before so being able to experience this was amazing. Between both countries we did so much in the realms of learning about LGBTQ, Black History in both cities and Jewish history. We also visited the Migration Museum, Anne Frank house, British Museum, had tea at Kensington Palace and so much more!

Coming on the trip I only knew three people personally that were going so that made me a little nervous but the experience of getting to know everyone and becoming close in those two weeks was great. We took public transit everywhere we went and just being able to get to different parts of the city in minutes was so nice especially since while being in Columbia I walk and drive everywhere. Being in London everything was in English but once we made it to Amsterdam everything was in Dutch which felt like such a learning curve because in all the train stations, restaurants, stores everything was in Dutch. Another thing that I didn’t expect to like as much as I did was living in a hostel. I didn’t know what to expect when we made it but I loved the homey and friendly environment of it. The hardest part for me while being abroad was the time difference just because we were 6-7 hours ahead so the idea that we were half way done with the day and back home their day was just starting was so crazy to think about. Overall, I am so grateful to Mizzou Study Abroad and the College of Education and Human Development for the ability to experience this program and being able to learn so much history and about myself. I am looking forward to continuing sharing my experience with those around me!

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: Multiculturalism and Identity in a Global Context