I went to the South America spring semester. Not a day goes by when I don't think about the experiences I had. I decided to study abroad after spending a couple of years feeling "stuck" in high school. Although everything was going well, I felt like I could do so much more with my life. After a TON of research and talking with my parents, I applied and was accepted to the Traveling School. What I found in those 15 weeks in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia was a community of absolutely normal girls from all over the United States that chose to do something untraditional and awesome. What resulted were some of the most incredible, genuine, excited friends I have ever had. So it was the people that made my experience so extraordinary, but we were enabled by the places we traveled to and how we did so. Having never backpacked before, I was somewhat nervous to dive into a 70 Liter backpack that held my closet, school, bedroom, anything and everything I needed. I feel in love with it, and how it empowering it was to carry all my belongings to incredible place to incredible place. I fell in love with the snow-capped Andes and the sands of the Galapagos and the wide countryside. And if I'm getting a little cheesily poetic, apologies, I'm clearly getting a tad nostalgic. Academically, what I found at TTS was not as rigorous as I was used to (and this varies wildly semester to semester), but that was okay because it gave me time to learn other things, about myself, the place around me, and my experience, and I am so grateful for that. Coming back to everyday life after TTS was a difficult transition for me, honestly- I desperately missed the soul-deep friendships I made and the lifestyle of discovery and novelty and learning I had grown accustomed to. But I adapted, and I found myself so much better for those 15 weeks. I am more self-assured, open, adventurous, and focused. TTS was a defining experience.
