An Expanded Sense of Culture and Language within the World
Three hundred and sixty five days ago, I
never would have thought my life would be what it is today-- an expanded sense
of culture and language within the world.
In 2016, I participated in the
Lexington-Deauville Sister Cities Exchange program. I could not have imagined a
better group of people to experience it with. Last year, the six weeks flew by
and I started planning for the next year.
The biggest blessing of the exchange was
not only getting close with my exchange partner but with others from the
exchange. 14 other Americans participated and I made lifelong friends in
Lexington. Plus the 14 in France that I stay in contact with, daily.
In 2016, Alice and I got very close.
After she left, the distance brought us even closer. I invited her back this
summer. After the much dreaded BAC, she came in July and we went to the lake
for 5 days with Allington and Côme (two others from the exchange), went to NYC,
Boston, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Maryland. We made so many
awesome memories within the 3 weeks she was here.
Shortly after that, I went back to
France for about a month... it wasn't long enough! Allington (one of my
American best friends from the exchange) also went back to stay with her
exchange partner, Côme. Allington stayed with Alice and I for one week before
heading to Spain with Côme's family. Within that week, we went to Disneyland in
Paris, Versailles, Paris for shopping and exploring, Deauville, and more! After
Allington left, Alice took me to London, England! Since my family is from
there, I was beyond excited and the trip did not disappoint! I had a week left
after our trip. Within that week, I went to Monet's Garden, Honfleur, and
several trips in between to see the exchange students from last year.
Rekindling old relationships was so
rewarding after a year and something I wouldn't have imagined. I never thought
that friendships like this, from 4,000 miles away, were even possible but
thanks to Sister Cities awesome program, I got to experience something so
beautiful.
As I said goodbye today to the people I
grew even closer to within the last two months, I realized that I have changed
immensely in all the right ways! I have grown to be okay with getting out of my
comfort zone, experiencing new things, and learning each day from those around
me.
I am already planning my trip for 2018
summer! I am beyond blessed to have been a part of this program and it forever
changed my life! Alice was the easiest hello and hardest goodbye. One year! One
year! One year!
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