Farewell to Europe

As I fly back to Maryland, I reflect on what these last ten days have been. There have been many a meetings with respective colleagues, multitudes of trips to British pubs, and many stops for waffles and frites within Belgium. I have also noticed many cross-cultural interactions as seen through the intimate feel of Brussels of French, Dutch and other cultures, to the metropolis that is the great city of London. I have seen many a tourist sites on this sojourn and have missed out on many cool places to visit, but I feel immersed and glad I have seen myself in a more global realm. Many life lessons were reestablished in regard to knowing your safety and your place in the night, and the helpfulness of people across Europe has been awesome. Whether it has been learning to “Mind the Gap” at the Embankment on the northern line of The Tube or walking to the Grand Place in Brussels every night for the experiences, this trip was impactful. Learning about the intricacies of the European Union in terms of its power and the processes of directives within the member states, and through learning the impact of Brexit on businesses and persons not only in Europe, but globally, helped peak my interests once more in processes worldwide. I came into college as a government and politics major and have since became an economics and finance double major. We visited multiple business schools for the purpose of understanding our course and understanding foreign schools and this has allowed me to see that when I decide on possible postgraduate education, I will definitely consider options outside of the United States. I am glad I went on this journey and I would like to tell others it is definitely worth going on any of these trips, just have an open mindset.