This summer, I was presented with the opportunity to study abroad in Prague, Czechia. During the two-month period, I was able to immerse myself in Czech culture in a way that isn’t accessible to tourists. I enrolled at Charles University to take a Czech language and culture class, as well as a class that analyzed European fairy tales. With a group of like-minded college students and guides, I was taken to much of the city and significant surrounding areas.
It is easy for me to say that this experience was life-changing. While the education at University was so intellectually stimulating, being placed in an unfamiliar culture with strangers proved to be the most influential aspect of my journey. I learned to be much more open minded, take life slower, and live in the moment a bit more. My most significant takeaway is that the more I see, the less I know!
The most influential academic aspect of my travels was the Czech language class. While sitting in a room with fifteen strangers around the world, I, oddly-enough, was comforted by the idea of never seeing many of them again. This made it easy for me to speak and interact more with both students and teachers. While I put in effort to participate in any class, I was able to experience first-hand how increased classroom comfort levels benefit retention, especially for a language class. The environment the professor created allowed for a lot of discussion and use of the language. Practice makes perfect!
My favorite part of my favorite summer so far was the people. Most importantly, those strangers that I spent two months straight with. Being thrown in an unknown environment allowed us to grow together and bond as a group. Every experience is unique and I am very biased towards mine, but I think I got extremely lucky with these people I get to call new friends. Not only did they make me laugh until I cried daily, but they pushed my limits and taught me about the world and myself.
I had only been to Europe once previous to this summer, so I knew little of the variation between each country. Some people I met were very well-traveled and knew all of the good spots! Czechia is a slightly central western country, so most of the continent was accessible to us for a long weekend trip. This being said, I was able to make it to Brno, Copenhagen, Berlin, Rome, Florence, and Vienna. We made the most of every minute in these cities. From the Colosseum to the Statue of David to the Berlin Wall, I had more one-of-a-kind experiences in two months than I might for the rest of my life.
A third most influential aspect of the trip would have to be the city of Prague itself. A friend of mine described the city as Eastern European people in Western European city. With this statement, he implied that Prague is lively and social, but very rich with history as well. The country of Czechia wasn’t independent and free of communism until the late 20th century, so the presence is still very prominent. Higher elevations in the city make viewpoints to see the miles of communist housing surrounding the city. A local guide that I had the privilege of getting to know spoke seldomly of her childhood under communist regime, but when she did she was quite emotional. I thought it was beautiful that the city was so happy, and many say it is because of their new-found gratitude for freedom. The Czech people taught me to be more grateful and to embrace every moment.
I think that this personal transformation is equally applicable to every aspect of my life because the most significant change was my mindset. On top of the almost euphoric summer, practicing gratitude seems to make me happier overall. I also believe that my eyes have opened to see more value in people that I have yet to know. I hope I carry this on to future careers, cities and relationships. I hope to surround myself with people that also value gratitude and equal respect. I also hope to place myself in a career in which I get the pleasure of meeting and interacting with a wide variety of people. 
