As I looked out of the window of my flight taking off from France, I immediately started to tear up as I reflected on my time abroad. I remember arriving in La Rochelle and not being able to understand anything my host mom was saying. A few months later I left France having received a perfect score on my oral exam and being able talk to my host family and even being able to have political debates with them. I am so thankful for my time abroad and the support along the way that the CIE office has given me. As I depart, I would like to offer my advice for future study abroad students. My first piece of advice is if you are on the edge about studying abroad, you need to do it. This was a once in a lifetime experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I loved being able to travel freely and explore the world. I wasn’t planning on studying abroad since it is so difficult to do so as a biology major, but reflecting back I am so glad I made the choice to do so. My second piece of advice is to stay with a host family, even if you aren’t learning the language. For learning a language, living and speaking the language all the time made me improve so much faster than I expected. Even if you aren’t learning the language, a host family can teach you important cultural facts that can help you transition and integrate into your host country. My final piece of advice is to travel. It really can open your eyes up to a new culture and experience and it’s hard to pass up especially since flights are so cheap. I have made so many new friends through my travel experiences and although my trips were short, I now have an idea of where I would like to go for a longer visit in the future. If you are planning on going abroad, I hope you have as great of an experience as I did and if you aren’t going abroad, you definitely need to!