By: Grace Nussle

My goofiest selfie.

Throughout the duration of this trip, I have taken over 700 photos and videos. A vast majority of these photos consist of museum displays, captions to historical photos, or the important sites we visited, but the photos were only able to capture some of the beauty and power held in these places. Along the way, I got tired of taking photos of what I was looking at. I wanted to get myself in the photo, too! I started to take selfies almost everywhere I went. I think it’s fun to see the smile on your own face when you are traveling to beautiful new places. It is my way of capturing only a bit of what I was feeling while in these new experiences. I’m more than certain my friends could tell you what I would say at any given moment while walking down the street or across the golden sands: “Now this…this would be a great place for a selfie.”

Some people might think that selfies are cringy or self-centered, but I think that they’re a great way to capture new experiences. It’s one thing to take a photo of the busy metro in Paris, but it’s another to capture the look of pure defeat on my face after getting on the wrong the train and going five stops in the opposite direction. A few of my favorite selfies that I took along the trip are the ones at the top of the Arc de Triumph with the Eiffel Tower in the background and the selfie taken

My favorite selfie with a view.

on the back of the ferry crossing the English Channel with nothing but blue waters and a French flag in the background. My goofiest selfie was of me crossing Tower Bridge in London, for my face is centered in the frame with no shoulders showing. It looks like a floating head smack dab in the middle of the bridge. But the selfies that mean the most to me are the ones with my new friends. I have been able to capture our ear-to-ear smiles, our laughs, our tired eyes on buses and trains, our fresh eyes on early mornings, and our worldwide adventures. I have never appreciated the selfie more than I do at the end of this trip. So, next time you come across the view of a lifetime, don’t be afraid to take a selfie.

A selfie can capture moments of joy and happiness shared with friends.

“I really just want to find a market in Paris.” My sister had to have been tired of hearing these words come out of my mouth the weeks leading up to my departure. I had been dreaming of shopping in Paris since I was a little girl, but I can’t afford the kind of shopping I was dreaming of. Instead of browsing Burberry or perusing Prada I had to find a local market to explore. While on my way to Saint Chapelle, I stumbled across an art and book market on the Seine River. The wind was blowing in my hair; the Parisians were whizzing around me. Green, wooden kiosks were set up on the cement wall. Vogue covers, French novels, and Time magazines were flowing in the breeze. The art of Paris had surrounded me. I felt like a true Parisian spending my afternoon reading book covers and sifting through posters. Or, maybe, I just felt like a true tourist. I ended up purchasing some decorations for my apartment next year, which I had been searching for the last few months. I cannot wait to tell my roommates of the market I found my Paris themed decoration. Later I learned the vendors inherit their stations in the same way a New York taxi driver inherits his taxi medallion. It was cool to learn about the similarity between the two big cities. Surrounded by water, the cities gather as community to enjoy each other’s time and talents.

Above is a brief portion of the market next to the Seine.

Nationalism is still alive and well. After traveling to London and visiting the Imperial War Museum, I have noticed that everyone wants to be the hero of the WWII story. I have noticed some of the other students on the trip getting very excited about the success the United States brought to the Allies during the war. This is interesting to me because I had not heard them be patriotic until we stepped foot in the Imperial War Museum. Students have said things like “I’ve never felt so patriotic” and “they would have been nowhere without us.” I understand many of these comments are not to be taken too seriously, but I find it so interesting how nationalism rises when talking about war. I have not heard many students my age say they are proud to be an American while in America, for college students have strong opinions on what is going wrong in our country. This does not only stem from Americans, but I witnessed many people from other allied nations express nationalism.

The act of nationalism that was most surprising to me was the display of pride the Russians have for their contributions to the war. When we first arrived at the Imperial War Museum, there were Russians placing flowers at the foot of the memorial for the USSR soldiers since it was the anniversary of the end of WWII. This ceremony was being filmed. It was taken very seriously, for the area around it was silent. The people were even holding a USSR flag. It was a bit of an eerie sight because of the United States’ strong negative feelings towards Russia during and after the Cold War. I also overheard a schoolboy proclaim his patriotism towards the UK while in the museum. As I was looking at the Dunkirk display, the boy and his friends came up next to me. He pounded on his chest and proclaimed, “We saved them”. The boys then snickered and walked away. This statement was not directed at me, I just overheard this portion of the conversation. The boy looked to be a little younger than me, probably in high school. It was so cool to hear how people are excited to be a part of their country when they helped win such a devastating conflict. From the comments made by my peers, to the laying of flowers, to a schoolboy excited for his country to have been a part of the war, nationalism is still thriving in the context of war.

Above is a photo of the Russian citizens paying homage to the soldiers that died for their country. You can see the USSR flag in the middle of the small crowd.