Travel > School | Rome

I realize the irony in this blog title. If it wasn't for school I would not be traveling like I am. But just keep reading.

 There are 168 hours in a week. I spend 12.5 hours in a classroom. That is 7% of my week. 93% of my week is spent doing other things.And yet I am labeled as a student. That seems odd to be a student when my life is so much more. But if I must be a student, I've found that the student I want to be is not one of the classroom but one of the world.

Just being casual in front of the Eiffel

This weekend I was in Paris, a place I never realistically thought I would ever be. Yet there I was, walking under the Eiffel Tower, eating macaroons, and praying in Notre Dame. My favorite part of the trip besides the crepes was The Louvre. I didn't really know what it was before planning Paris but it is one of the largest and most extensive art museums in the world. It contains the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo statues and paintings, and other ridiculously famous works. Having never taken an art apprecaitaion course, I look for what strikes me in art then study it for as long as I like. The brush strokes and type of paint are irrelevant to what I care about. I care about the beauty and the way it moves me.

The Louvre

I have found Europe to be more worldly. I think it is because each country is so interdependent on one another that they must pay attention to each other. Or they could just not be so arrogant as to think they are forever the supreme country ('Merica). We were in a taxi on the way to the airport and our driver was from Morocco, grew up in France, and works in Paris so he can return to Morocco one day. He knows 5 languages. We got into a world affairs discussion and I realized how ignorant I am of the world. He asked how we liked President Obama and then my father asked what he thought about the ruler of Morocco. I had no idea who ruled Morocco or in what style. I couldn't even tell you the French style of ruling much less who was the leader. Why did I expect our driver to know English, who leads America, and what our national issues were while I couldn't even tell you that a king rules over Morocco?

My Mom

As I travel I learn. I learn how to pack in a tiny backpack and what will set the metal ditectors off. I learn how to use a metro and train system proficiently in any country. I learn how to speak different languages. I learn how to make new and delicious food. I learn how others view the world. I learn about ancient history and the greatest buildings ever built. I learn how to travel with others around the world. I learn about myself constantly. Most importantly, I learn how to be a student of the world.

Oh hay Mona

Don't get me wrong, my classes in school are fantastic and I am so grateful to be able to attend school and not have to worry about paying for it or if my country will let me as a woman go to a university. But the 7% of my day rarely changes me. It fills me with information. LIFE fills me with wisdom. Traveling has shown me not how to do a balance sheet but how to truly live. That is the school I want to attend.