Michael Andersen’s SA Blog Entry #3

Being abroad has impacted me in so many ways. For one, the way I view the world has completely changed. Living in the states I feel like I have been living in a bubble which doesn’t allow me to fully see and experience other cultures. Plus many biases that I was taught throughout my life remained in the back of my head even though I knew that they weren’t true. Yet when I left the states and had the opportunity to experience so many cultures and the chance to meet travelers from around the world that I now see the world differently. Secondly, being on a continent where the main language is Spanish has taken me out of my comfort zone so many times. I have become fluent in the language but still I found that I have fear or feel uncomfortable in certain situations. It is hard to believe that I have done so much in seven months and that I have had this opportunity. I remember walking through the amazon a few days ago and thinking to myself, “If you would have asked me a year ago what I thought I would be doing nowhere in my wildest dreams would I have said I would be walking through the amazon.” I cannot believe how much in this year of 2013, I have changed and how much I have accomplished. The way that I have grown over these last seven month is incredible and I feel more like myself now than I ever have before. I feel as of right now I am the person that I have wanted to be but I did not know how to become. I know that I will return to the states as a more confident person who will always know that there are greener pastures ahead.

This trip has definitely transformed me and in the main way is it has allowed me to gain confidence in myself. Also as I stated above this trip has also transformed my world view. Due to this new found confidence and the way I view the world I feel as though I am happier. I feel as though I have gone and done something with my life. I feel like even though I don’t know right now what I will do with my life after college I know that there is a huge world out there waiting for me. I feel that after this trip I can take on anything and I know that there will always be new horizons to discover. In these ways I feel completely transformed by this journey.