The University of Evansville boasts of the nation's top-ranked study abroad program, and this semester, five Aces women's soccer players are taking advantage of it, spending time at Harlaxton College in Grantham, England. Today's post is brought to you by Whitney Biggs and Bronwyn Boswell.
For more on Harlaxton and UE's study abroad program, click here.
Our semester abroad at Harlaxton becomes just another memory that we can store away and recount when people ask the questions like 'where was your favorite place to travel' or 'any travel advice?' However, to us, Harlaxton has become a part of us. The people that we met along the way and the experiences that we have shared have changed us forever and will always have a special place in our hearts.
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The last few days that we shared together at Harlaxton were the best few days as we embraced Harlaxton and all of the wonderful people that we got the fortune of meeting this semester. It was quite difficult to sit down and study for the finals we had because we all wanted to be together and cherish the last moments that we would ever have together in this exact location and time. We never could have imagined what Harlaxton would do for us when we first arrived on that blustery day in January, but after returning to the States after 4 months, the effects were evident and will continue to have a lasting impact on our lives. This wonderful experience that we got to embark on together was truly a joy and blessing and in fact, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Â
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We are truly thankful we could all share this experience together. The five of us conquered the "no-sprechens-English" city of Prague, a nice festival weekend in Nice, a frantic journey to Wembley Stadium in London, and many Harlaxton adventures in Grantham throughout the semester. Although we didn't always travel together, we all looked forward to hearing about each other's travels the Monday after. We could experience part of it ourselves just hearing about it! The five of us combined visited Leicester, Manchester, York, London, Prague, North Wales, Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Barcelona, Paris, Nice, England's Lake District, Nottingham, Oxford, Cambridge, Basel and Lucerne in Switzerland, Amsterdam, Florence, Venice, and Rome. Throughout the semester we competed against each other in house competitions, sang flawless karaoke, played soccer against those who didn't fear us, explored the secrets of Harlaxton Manor, studied for British Studies exams, stuffed ourselves full with local foods, unwillingly discussed American politics with locals, hiked several mountains, held movie and game nights, converted pounds into dollars and then into euros then to francs and back to pounds, ran a half or full marathon, "slept" in several airports, lost a purse, dealt with broken phones, endlessly searched for free wi-fi, discovered the pros and cons of hostels, searched for a vaguely descriptive Airbnb location, spoke a couple phrases in foreign languages while hoping they knew English, made new friendships, and called Harlaxton Manor our home away from home.
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It was an amazing semester to say the least.
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Packing to go home was bittersweet because we were looking forward to going home, but leaving would be difficult. Packing is also a trap because trying to fit all the souvenirs collected over the past 4 months into the same bags we initially brought while expecting everything to fit and weigh less than 50 pounds is a joke. It doesn't work.
On the last day we would all be together, we went out to a Thai restaurant in Grantham to celebrate Colleen and Whitney's birthdays as well as the end of a great semester. Seeing the sunset as we drove away from Harlaxton Manor one last time, we were all content with our departure. The sun was setting on the manor as well as our experience abroad. After 4 months we were ready to see the sun set on this adventure, but only to see the sunrise on a new one as we returned to the States. It was a perfect moment to reflect on our time here and anticipate how it would affect our future.
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After a long semester of traveling weekends and homework filled weekdays, we were all ready to return home, satisfied with our adventures abroad, at least for now. I think we can all agree that there is far more to see.
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