Vice and Other Advice

Metz, France Studying abroad is a crazy cool experience. You get to knock off so many bucket list items and spend the summer away from everything that you’re used to. But despite what you may think, it’s not some crazy free-for-all (although it’s close) where college kids just test their limits and city hop each day. There’s something called “classes” that happen during the weekdays. In groups of our choosing (or alone for that matter), we travel on weekends that range from two to four days in length. So of course, we don’t get to Eat-Pray-Love style each of our vacations and turn into locals in each city we visit; we find the major attractions, walk around, take basic pictures by monuments, eat the signature foods, and then dash back to class. In spite of the fast pace, you can still find pockets of time where you get to breathe, and understand your surroundings. Of course, it’s not required to, but I’m about to share with you what happens when you do take time to smell the r...