Last evening at dinner, I discovered that one of my riding companions, Patrick, attended the same school during his junior year of college that I did during my junior year. What an amazing coincidence! It’s a really small school (Richmond College in London) and only about 100 US students attended each year. The “campus” for upper classmen (which has since been closed) was a single building on St. Alban’s Grove, near High Street Kensington. That building housed dorm rooms, classrooms, a few common rooms, and in the basement was the dining hall. Technically, you never needed to leave. Although Patrick attended 3 years after I did, we immediately discovered that we had many shared experiences — we went to the same pubs, ate the same late night snacks, traveled at every opportunity, both within and outside the United Kingdom, hitchhiked freely, and took advantage of all the student discounts. Of course, we did take some of the same classes, but I have always taken the position that one should never let school interfere with one’s education, and that is particularly true with studying abroad.
We also talked about how life changing the experience was. We learned about other cultures (the school was international and in addition to British and some other European students, there were a large number of Middle Eastern and African students). We developed independence; we learned how to get by on very little money, but still have fun; we faced challenges we never would have faced at home; and we became more mature.
We had no cell phones or credit cards. We learned to navigate maps, subways, trains and other transportation. We figured out how to communicate across countries and make long term plans. We developed problem solving skills, all which provided a foundation for our adult lives.
I made friends during that year who are still my closest friends today (and yes, it was 45 years ago!). Patrick shared that he found the experience so worthwhile he is making sure that his children do something similar.
The value of traveling throughout life cannot be overstated. At my former company, GBT, we would say that Travel is a Force for Good, and, is it ever. Seeing the world, seeing how other countries operate, and, even more importantly, seeing how the world views our country, helped shape my lifetime perspective and values, and taught me to appreciate the life that I had in the US. Although I hadn’t yet decided that I would go to law school, I came away from that experience with the confidence that I would be able to do whatever it was that I set out to do.
My experience during that year is the reason I chose Joy Worldwide as one of the six charities to support on this ride across the country. Joy Donnelly, the founder, also spent her junior year abroad, and she now raises money to help other underrepresented students do the same. If you haven’t yet pledged support for my ride across the country, please take a moment to do so and support Joy Worldwide so we can help other young people experience the world. www.ourcrosscountrybikeextravaganza.com
Finally, one of the other riders shared this Carl Sagan youtube link with me.
https://youtu.be/GO5FwsblpT8?si=9xWMLHWFaG_N9OsW
With all that’s going in the world right now, it’s always worthwhile to take a step back and be humbled.
Amount Pledged to Charities to Date