The Feeling of Europe - (English Assignment Turned Blog Post)

    When my friends and I arrived in Le Mans at 7:20 in the morning, we did not know what the trip held in store for us. With the rush of excitement flooding our veins, we stepped off the train, ready for anything. However, we did not think about how there is nothing to do at 7:20 in the morning in Le Mans. The light from Google Maps lit up our faces, and we felt the light fade from our souls, realizing center city was a 30-minute walk away. We did not know that a 30 minute walk would be the easiest walking we would do all day. 

    The different styles of European houses lined the streets around us. A gray cat approached us with as much wonder in its eyes as ours. As I reached my hand down to pet it, a fervid feeling washed over me: “Wow, I live in Europe.” A phrase I have repeated over and over in my head for two and a half months. That moment put everything in perspective for me. I was sitting on the cobblestone streets of Le Mans, France, petting a random cat and laughing with people I would now call my closest friends. Before, the words “I live in Europe” were senseless words strung together to make a sentence that floated around in my brain. However, now, they are words fused together that form a reality I never thought would happen. 

After ours interaction with the cat, we wandered around the streets, joking and laughing while we were sightseeing. The feeling of Europe began to set in. The air felt crisp against my cheeks that were sore from smiling. The air was fresh with the lingering scent of cigarettes in the air; well, it is France after all. The taste of freedom coated my tongue with adventure as we saw all the activities we could do, and my ears rang from the squeals of excitement we all expressed.  Even though Europe began to engulf all my senses, these were not the moments that made me realize how grateful I am to be living abroad. It was a moment I wished could not have been happening in the moment, but a moment I wish to never forget now. 

My friends and I left the cobblestone streets and instead went to the asphalt of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Circuit. This was something we were all looking forward to, walking around the famous racetrack Le Mans is known for. However, when we began to walk around the main event, we realized we had wandered far from the entrance and there were no other ways to get out. This is when the agonizing pain of a long day with many things to do and impatience began to set in. We stomped our feet and groaned and debated jumping over fences. The “shortcuts” we thought we took led us to more pointless walking and Google Maps gave up on trying to help us. When we finally accepted our fate and swore off driving forever, we finally saw the entrance we had come in from and ran, well, rather hobbled, to our freedom. I felt the feeling of freshly ripping through the finish line ribbon and the exhaustion from a long race. I took my sweater that rested on my head after being put there out of overheating and frustration and felt my cheeks begin to hurt again from another smile. Apart from the relief, I also felt overwhelming gratitude. Not just for finally escaping the track, but for the whole experience. Even though it took a lot of time from our day and I was annoyed at the moment, I was also in Europe, experiencing new things. I was joking and laughing with my closest friends, and the feeling of Europe and adventure still filled the air around us. I felt like I would be walking forever, and I would have been okay with it never ending; okay, that might be a bit far. However, it is a story I will remember forever. It put into perspective that even though all the unnecessary walking seemed bad at the moment, it was still fun because I was there with my friends and in a new environment-the feeling of Europe following us everywhere.