Aero: Hannah Miller – France 2018 – Travel

Posted by LEAF Architect on Tuesday, September 11, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Aero: Hannah Miller – France 2018 – Travel

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Hannah Miller

Traveling to France was the first time that I had ever been outside of the United states and I am not going to lie I was super nervous about it. This was also the first time I was going to be traveling without my family for more than just a couple days. Going to France was really a test for me to see if I got homesick and if I could make it on my own, kind of. I did not get as homesick as I thought I was going to. There was one night when I was with my host family when I did get very homesick and I felt like I just did not want to be there anymore, but after that night I was fine.

The eight-hour plane rides to France and back to the United States were not as bad as I thought they were going to be. On the way to France I watched a movie, ate dinner, went to sleep, and when I woke up we were being served breakfast so my body was not affected by the time difference at all because I slept accordingly. The plane ride home is another story. I was sitting next to some pretty annoying people and of course as soon as I fell asleep the guy next to me wakes me up to ask if he can get out when the other way was empty. So that plane ride I maybe slept an hour and was super tired during the layover while waiting for our next flight.

Another thing that I was super worried about was going through customs. I had always heard storied about how strict they are and how scary they are to go through, but I actually thought it was not bad at all. Coming back into the United States I had an officer that was kind of rude, but going into France the officer was really nice and it was a very quick process. Going through the normal security always stresses me out even though I know that I have nothing illegal in my bags but I just do not want to get pulled aside for a more intense search for any reason. Even with my worrying I made it through at the airports in the United States. Coming back home though I forgot that I had a drink in my bag, so that had to get searched which made my heart drop.

The travel while in France was a lot different than in the United States. A lot more people took the bus or train instead of having their own car. This really represents how eco-friendly the French are. While in Paris we either walked or took the subway. I had never been on the subway before so that was a totally new experience for me. I did not realize how fast you have to get on and off the subway or else it is just going to leave with or without you. Also sometimes it was almost impossible for our whole group to get onto the line that we needed because it was so packed. When it was that full of people I was really worried about getting pick pocketed so I made sure all of my belongings were in front of me or I had my hand on them.

We also took a high speed train from Paris to Vitré and I had never been on a train before. I thought that was kind of cool. There was not a lot of space for our luggage though so we had to either stuff it above us or put it in the luggage kart thing. Traveling on a train I thought was kind of a cool experience especially since it was something I had never done before.

I think that it is important to know how to travel especially when you are by yourself. A lot of people these days have to travel for business and also are traveling a lot for pleasure. I know that when we were all waiting in the airport while our professors were trying to figure out how to get to Paris I was stressing a little because I did not know what we were supposed to be doing. Now when I go back I will know exactly what to do and where to go. On the flip side I have traveled on an airplane many times so I knew exactly where to go and exactly what we had to do which made that part of our traveling easier for me. Going to France in a group the first time I think will help my chances of going back in the future because now I know what I have to do and basically where to go when I am there.

Hannah Miller
Study Abroad – France 2018 @ FLCC

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