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| Eileen Jakeway looking out over the Cliff of Moher |
During the summer of 2013, with a 45 pound backpack on my
shoulders, a burning sensation in my throat, clambering up a steep incline on a
mountain in Wyoming, I would have never thought to find myself in a similar
condition once more, in, of all places, the Paris metro. During my semester abroad studying in Limoges,
France, I have been reminded of several key lessons that NOLS taught me while
I’ve been abroad. First of all, carrying heavy backpacks up inclines is hard
work whether they are full of food up a mountain or full of clothes up the
seemingly never-ending stairs of the Paris metro. Secondly, hydrate or die.
Staying hydrated in Europe is not easy; you will be ridiculed for carrying
around a water bottle or drinking tap water, but it is just as crucial walking
to class as it is hiking a mountain; no matter what they say, you can NOT stay
sufficiently hydrated off wine and beer.
On a more serious note,
NOLS and study
abroad overlap in that you will find yourself in terrifying, isolating
situations that only you can get yourself out of. You must rely on yourself, on
your strength and believe that whatever situation you are in, you are in
control. Even when that means keeping your cool in a completely foreign
educational system or finding your way home when the bus stopped running.
Furthemore, building relationships with the people around you is what the true
experience is about. The people you surround yourself with are what you will
always remember, what makes the experience worthwhile. So ask the nice girl you
met on the tour bus to go out for dinner and drinks once it’s over, meet up
with people you otherwise might not hang out with and be open to forming new
bonds in hostels. I was able to meet up with a childhood friend of mine and her
neighbor from Germany in Dublin on St. Patrick’s Day. Because we hung out
together, I found out that I used to be neighbors with her friend for three
years and that we lived right down the road from each other! These are the
kinds of discoveries that study abroad brings wih it, but not without the sheer
determination and hard work that it took to get through NOLS. So, I would say that the most important
lessons I learned on NOLS augmented my study abroad experience immensely: take risks and be adventurous; carry the extra
weight for someone else when they need it and they will be there for you
too; don’t be discouraged by the
unknown. And most importantly, the view from the top makes it all worth it—by
the end, you will be amazed by how far you’ve come.
--Written by Eileen Jakeway, Class of 2017 Levine Scholars Program
