While I was in college, I stumbled upon one of the best experiences of my life. It was just before my last semester at Community College while visiting one of the four year colleges I was considering attending. I walked in towards the end of May for a tour of the campus. My temporary advisor happened to be located in the same building as the language department so that is where we started...and subsequently ended. I fell in love with the department from the moment I walked through the door. As we talked more, I noticed a poster on the wall for study abroad. I didn't say anything at first, after all, I could never spend an entire semester overseas....right??
Conversations continued and I became more and more drawn to the poster. As I strained to read the small print, I heard the secretary mention the summer abroad program, so I stopped her and said, “Did you say SUMMER abroad?” She knew I was interested. I had the same sparkle in my eyes she had seen all too many times. I listened in disbelief as she told me that the program would consist of a three and a half week stay in the south of France, weekends are free to the students to do as they please, classes are for two hours a day, bi-weekly excursions after class to experience the culture, and the only thing I had to pay for, other than my tuition, was my flight. I was stunned. I asked when the next trip was scheduled since the deadline had long since passed for the upcoming summer. She directed my question to the department head, who informed me that she had had a cancellation for the upcoming summer program that week and had not been able to fill the spot.
I went directly to the computer lab and logged on to the internet to price flights, and to my astonishment, I was able to find a round-trip flight for less than $500.00. I was ecstatic at this point. Almost a month in Europe for under $500.00! My tuition was covered by scholarships, my room and board paid for by the college, and I all had to come up with was the cost of the flight and any extra travel or shopping I wanted to do! So off to Europe I went. It was amazing. I spent two weekends in Paris, one weekend in Italy, one weekend in Barcelona, and I have more stories, pictures, and memories than any one person should be allowed. I had the fortunate experience of learning about the French language and culture first hand, and all the while earning seven semester hours of college credit. It was the experience of a lifetime...so I went again the next summer too!
There are so many colleges out there that offer programs just like this one. Some may be better priced, some may be worse, but the main objective is to learn and have one of the greatest experiences of your life. Go to your local colleges and see what opportunities they may have. Use the internet as a resource to pricing flights and finding the right program for you. But whatever you do, give this a shot. Dare to explore the world and who you are. You will learn more in a few weeks than you ever thought possible. It doesn't matter what your majoring in, language and culture courses are always a plus for employers. I am currently working in executive management in the medical field with a degree in Foreign Language! (Yes, I changed my degree because of this program, and it was one of the best decisions of my life!)

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