“the little things”

Guest Post by: Chloe Lium, a Foster junior focusing on Finance and Marketing. Chloe studied abroad this summer in Barcelona and received a GBC Study Abroad Scholarship to support her program costs. 

After spending the summer studying abroad in Barcelona, I have become much more appreciative of “the little things”. By taking the extra time to do something that makes you smile every day will make you so much happier in the long-run.

First – cooking for yourself. Every Monday my program held a cooking class where we would tackle a new appetizer, entrée, dessert, and a drink as a team. Cooking traditional food and taking the time to hear from the instructor about the meal’s history always encouraged me to try cooking more on my own for the remaining six days of the week.

Second -walking. Walk EVERYWHERE. It is amazing how much you miss when you take a taxi or bus somewhere. The ten-minute walk to class that I used to dread suddenly felt like nothing when I would spend entire days out walking and figuring my way around the city. Taking the time to walk around helped me not only slow down and enjoy my commute from place to place- but also gave me time to myself to think and not always be “go-go-going”.

Third- try it. Try new foods, try new clothes, new music, new anything. Studying abroad is something that doesn’t come around very often- so why regret not trying the Escargot while you’re in Paris? Try speaking in Italian to your server at dinner… why not? When will you ever be in Italy speaking Italian to your server again?

And lastly- wake up early and stay up late. Take advantage of every minute you have. Sooner or later you’ll be just like me, wanting to go back already. There is so much to do and see during your study abroad experience. Spend time planning and researching everything you want to do before you leave so that you can fully explore it all!

Studying abroad was one of the most incredible experiences I will ever have. It may be cheesy, but I fully believe that being a part of this program last summer helped me grow into a better person- one that is much happier and appreciative of all “the little things” that can make my days just a little brighter.