I never expected traveling to have such an impact on me. Last summer I went to Paris with my family for two weeks. When I first got there the culture shock was enormous – I felt so out of place, I thought I would never grow to like the city, let alone, love it. On the last day my entire family was so sad to be leaving the beautiful city we had so quickly grown to love. I came home passionate about Paris. My favorite bakery at home, What’s for Dessert, starting making macarons, and we started taking weekly trips there to pick up our new favorite dessert. During back-to-school shopping my mom, sister and I could not resist buying notepads and decorations featuring the Eiffel Tower from Pier 1 Imports and Target.
I came back from Spain with just as much passion. While browsing the website of Lehigh’s student newspaper, The Brown and White, I found an article about a Spanish tapas restaurant opening in Bethlehem. I am so excited to be able to feel a sense of Spanish culture in my own backyard! My study abroad trip friends and I still organize lunches and sangria get-togethers. Our two week trip had lasting effects on all of us. The individual growths we all experienced as well as our appreciation for the culture have bonded us. This culture is something we want to continue experiencing. Since it is not practical or feasible to return to Spain yet, it is exciting that we will be able to enjoy food and an atmosphere reminiscent of our trip. No matter how many times we reunite, we still laugh at the same jokes and talk about the same stories. The magic and beauty behind our trip seems to be getting more intense the further away we are from the trip.
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