Looking back on the GSU Strasbourg Program, I am glad that I attended it. I will admit it was not what I expected, I left the States having an image of being totally emerged in a foreign country and speaking only French, which was not the case. I ended up meeting more Americans and other students studying abroad than actual French students (especially since the classes were taught in English). The Chateau, while breathtakingly beautiful and full of fascinating history, is a bit far from the city center where anyone outside of the GSU group would be living. However, attending such reputable institutions in the excursions was interesting and informative. What should also be noted is how close people on this trip get with each other. Few of us knew each other before coming to Strasbourg, but after cooking countless dinners in the kitchen, and breakfasts in the breakfast room, not to mention attending class, traveling, and living together, we became our own little Chateau family. People who I probably never would have met and become so close with are now the people I share a myriad of inside jokes with and are already planning on seeing when we all return from traveling. I am now on a six-week backpacking trip of Europe with a girl I met on the program, now one of my closest friends. We visited Berlin and Prague, where another Chateau family member met us for a few days, and are currently on a train to Budapest before heading to Venice. Overall, the GSU Strasbourg Program does teach a lot about the EU, though one of the biggest questions I am left with is what is asked in most of the classes about European Integration, “What is Europe?” So now I’m off to try to figure that out for myself.
Heather Hager
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