CETS Experience!

A life changing experience...

Academically, I learned so much! I am the type of person that learns better from hands on or visuals. Going to all of these places and learning about them while we were there helped me a lot. I learned so much history! I did not like museums much before this trip but I did learn a lot from them. Geography wise I also learned a lot because I was horrible with directions! I get lost so easy, I have lived in the Eau Claire area almost all of my life and I still get lost. After being in a situation where you have to know your surrounds and directions it forced me to learn about the public transportation systems. I am really glad I got better at direction. As for the music component, I went into this trip not knowing much at all about music and now I can name some of the most famous music places and people. I learned a lot more than I thought I would, I think it helped having professors with us the whole time instead of just a classroom setting and exploring on our own.

Coming into this study abroad experience I was so excited. I loved my time in Winchester, England so much and I wanted to relive the whole thing. Before I left I tried hard to make sure I wasn’t comparing the two trips I wanted to enjoy my time abroad again but not have any expectations to live up to. After coming home I realized this experience was way better than I could have ever imagined. I had the best time and it made me realize my time in Winchester was so amazing because it was my home and I just traveled on weekends, whereas this time my home was the people I spent every day with since we traveled so much. I grew a lot from this time abroad. It made me realize how incredibly thankful I am for all the things I have accomplished. When we were abroad I realized this and then messaged my mum to tell her thank you for all her support and she said back to me, “Lizzy we will always be here to support you but you should be proud of yourself. You got yourself here and you are chasing your dreams. You have so much to be proud of.” I think that most of my personal growth that I gained from the CETS experience was being able to recognize what I have and what I want to still accomplish in life. Travelling is a dream of mine that I will continue to chase. 

Seriously couldn't imagine a better group to travel and have this experience with!