I arrived in Strasbourg, France a few days ago, which is quite the change from what my life was like two weeks ago during my internship. For the entire summer I worked on one project, trying to get a CRM system to go live before school started. I got up every morning and drove 3.0 miles south on the 405 to get to work. About 6:15pm or so, I would leave work to rush home and study or do my reading for class. Mondays I always went to dinner at Swingers and ordered Fredo's Pasta. Tuesdays or Wednesdays I would go to The Counter and order a burger in a bowl with mixed greens, extra feta cheese, raisins, and onions topped with the Dijon Balsamic Dressing.
Needless to say, I got my routine down. My world was a 5 square mile box, with my home in the center. Arriving in Paris completely changed my view of things. I was in a foreign land, not knowing the native tongue. Staring out the window of my train, I noticed tiny little towns in the distance sprinkled amongst the vast ocean of grass and greenery. It was all just a dream.
I got up the next day in a hotel room, nothing like my home. My mother and I decided to go get some water and juice for our room. I asked the concierge where to go and she directed me to a mall. When we entered the mall, I was finally awake.
It was just a normal mall, wait…No. Everything is in French. But everything looks the same. Girls chit-chatting about boys; boys chit-chatting about the girls; children riding the carousel; cell phone stores; video game stores; jewelry shops; ballet shoes; even McDonald's. It was all there, just like home.
It wasn't until later when I was reflecting on this experience that I realized that the people here are just like me, but just in another language. We get so wrapped up in the routine that we even lose sight of the people around us, like neighbors or even the local cashier at the grocery store we go to every week. Unless a person is directly wrapped up in our lives like our family, coworkers and friends, it is as though they don't really exist. We see them as those people. They are too different. If we step out of our routine for one second, we can see that they are not so different after all.
It is funny how I had to travel thousands of miles away from home to realize this. My tiny little world just got a whole lot bigger. There are so many new things to taste, to touch, to smell, to see, and to hear. I am really excited about this semester; it is going to be great.
I am blessed to have such a great opportunity like this, but you don't have to fly 6000 miles away to have the same experience. There are so many new things to find in your city or your neighborhood. Break your routine just for one day and find something new to experience. You really will open your world just a little bit more.
Until next time, adieu.
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