Hello all my cyber cheerleaders! Miss me? Of course you did :)

So, aside from spending this last weekend restaurant hopping—I had some awesome barbeque, just so you know—I did some catching up on backlogged e-mails. I don’t get around to it as much as I’d like to seeing how I’m usually busy here at AC. While sifting through my messages, I came across one with a bunch of questions about studying abroad asking for a little advice since I’d done the same. I thought I’d go ahead and relay my thoughts to you all.

Basically it’s something along the lines of: Study Abroad!!!

As I mentioned in my first posting, I think that Paris is the most fabulous city in the world. I made this discovery after I studied there about two years ago, in the fall of my junior year of college. I was so unbelievably pumped to go, and I couldn’t comprehend why two of my best friends had zero desire to study abroad as well. This is especially unfortunate because now I can say that this may have been the single best experience of my life. (That and being an intern at AC of course!) Don’t get me wrong America is a great place, and I have as much pride as the guy with the stars and stripes on his Chevy, but there’s unfortunately something that we Americans miss out on since we’re geographically far away from much of the world. There are so many different cultures and histories that we’re not readily exposed to as much as our European counterparts are. One of the greatest things about being in Paris—or anywhere in Europe for that matter—is the ability to take a weekend trip to a number of other countries. Not just other states, other countries. I personally had the pleasure of weekending in Barcelona and day-tripping to Brugges. That kind of stuff doesn’t happen much on this side of the pond. Being exposed first-hand to so many different histories and cultures really enriches you as a person and gives you a greater appreciation of the intricacies of the world we live in.

My cheer friends, I encourage all of you to take advantage of the wonderful opportunity that being in college gives you to go abroad. If not then, when? Most colleges have a number of study abroad opportunities in different locales. If not, there are a bunch of independent study abroad programs out there you can apply to such as: Abroadco, Lexia, American Institute of Foreign Studies, etc. Or, you can volunteer to go on a foreign service trip. With so many options, it’s hard to say no.

Nervous? Don’t be. Think of it as a great adventure and your opportunity to collect stories to tell to jealous family and friends back home. As the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu once said: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Who knows what doors studying abroad will open? Promise me you’ll at least look into it. If you have more questions just shout me a holler at rdolan@americancheerleader.com. I’d be glad to help out.

Xoxo,
Becca