I have started this blog, not only as a way for me to share my love for the world but also to share my adventures and the experiences I learn. I will write about some of the experiences I have when I travel, the adventures leading up to my travels, and the photos I take as a photographer.
Before I get too much into my experiences, I want to share the story of how I fell in love with travel. I have been fortunate enough to have been to eight other countries and one other continent. The first really big trip I ever took, was in 2012 on a cruise in Alaska. I was only eleven when I went on that trip with my family, I had an amazing time, but I didn't yet know how much I would really appreciate that trip until later. The year after, we went to Germany and France (and momentarily passed through Austria and Netherlands). Europe was a place that I had always admired as a child, and spending some time there was amazing, but I still, only thought about the great time I was having and not as much about what was around me.
Two years later, my family and I had taken a Caribbean cruise, and this trip is where my love of travel really sparked. In Belize and Honduras, we went a little outside our port cities, allowing us to escape the major tourism and see a little bit closer to what their cultures really are about. In Belize, I saw people just out on the street, everywhere, it was entirely unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Our guide showed us one of the only schools in the entire country, It was really fascinating to see. And in Honduras, there were some political tensions at the time, and I remember seeing large groups of people holding assault rifles. At the time I hadn't really thought much of it, I was young and naïve, I noticed it, but just moved on from it like it was no big deal.
There are a few people in my life who have really helped shaped my love for travel to what it is today. I had a teacher in eighth grade I was really inspired by. I always loved hearing about her travel stories, and loved talking to her about mine. She opened my eyes to appreciate where I had been, and made me realize that I had experienced some amazing things, especially for only being fourteen. She encouraged me to keep trying to travel and it just stuck. Ever since, I have had a strong love for traveling and other cultures.
The second half of my love for travel was further emphasized at the beginning of my freshman year. I started taking French, and found great success. French has further opened my eyes to other cultures what this world has to offer. I chose to name this blog Emily And The World in French, for my love of travel and the French language, Emily Et Le Monde.
I had heard about the opportunity to study abroad for a year with a program called YES Abroad. My French teacher had a huge impact on me in this process, and encouraged me to keep trying and helped me along the entire way. If there was an award for most traveled teacher, the award would go to her every time, without a doubt. Both of these teachers are so inspirational to my and my travel, when I think of what I want to be like when I grow up, I think of them. They were huge in my process of trying to go abroad. Unfortunately I didn't get in to YES Abroad for my sophomore year. I spent the next year continuing to grow my obsession of French, and learning more and more about the world and what it had to offer. My family hosted an exchange student from France for a few weeks, which had it's challenges, but was an amazing experience. By application season came back around, I had a much larger point of view on the world and what there was to offer, I felt that I had it in the bag. I found two other programs to try for, NSLI-Y and CBYX, I applied for all three. I also had found out that one of my friends was applying, and she was an amazing friend to have among all of this. I worked very hard on my applications to try and make them the very best I could, and I felt confident about them. On December 2, 2018 (my birthday might I add) I heard from NSLI-Y that I was not selected as a semi-finalist for their Russian year long program. My hopes had started to go down, but I didn't lose hope, I still had YES and CBYX. A few months later, I heard from YES, that they wanted to do a French interview so I could be eligible to go to Morocco or Senegal, they said that it had no indication of acceptance, but I had this impression it did. Shortly after, I heard from CBYX that I was selected as a semi-finalist. All of a sudden, my hopes immediately shifted to the idea that I was going to be spending my junior year abroad. The waiting was agonizing, I was in Facebook groups for applicants of these programs, and we all were going crazy for notifications to come out. Finally on March 13, I heard from YES Abroad that I was not selected. I was upset, but I still had CBYX, I wanted CBYX the most out of these programs, so I was just waiting for hearing from them. Friday, March 16, I received an email from CBYX that I was not selected. I was devastated. This was going to be my last chance to study abroad in high school, and it wasn't going to happen, This had been my dream for almost two years. That was the last day of school before spring break and I started off that spring break 'going rogue'. I dyed my hair purple, got another ear piercing, and faced my biggest fear of falling on a waterslide, and applied for another abroad program that was due in less than 24 hours.
My French Teacher sent out a link to a program called Rustic Pathways, they had a community service scholarship that was due in a day. I decided to just go for it. There was no harm in trying.
School started back up after spring break, and I felt alive, I had had a big "L", and had to make up for it by make some small (risky) "W's". I had had a job for a few weeks at that point and just decided to give up on scholarships to go abroad and just try to pay for the expensive trips. I went to an informational meeting for a trip to Cambodia and Laos in Summer 2019 (coincidentally also with Rustic Pathways, but this trip is also through my school) I fell so in love with the trip. I went for it and registered. I was upset that I have to pay my way to do what I want, but I am excited for the amazing experience.
April 13, 2018, everything changed. I was at my best friend's house, my phone lit up with an email from Rustic Pathways. She rushed over to me and we opened the email together, I was selected for a 50% scholarship as well as some other fees were waived. That was the moment I realized that I did it. My dream was coming true, and getting to share that moment with my best friend is irreplaceable. After two days of bouncing back and forth I finally picked a program. I am going to be spending 16 days in Morocco on their Souqs and Service program, doing community service projects in a small village in the Atlas Mountains, wandering UNESCO World Heritage Souqs (markets), and getting lost in Morocco's beautiful culture.
I started this blog as a way for me to share my experiences without over-clogging my instagram feed (although, let's be honest, it's going to happen anyway), share tips I have for other students (or adults) wanting to travel from my person experience, have a place to share my photography photos, and promote world awareness! My posting is probably going to be very sporadic, but I have plans to update it frequently over the coming months.
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