From Bayous to Baguettes
Finding beauty wherever you go
Home sweet home…
or so they say.
As a high schooler in Louisiana, the one statement I heard over and over again (and may have muttered once or twice myself) was “Whenever I graduate, I can’t wait to get out of here.” Granted, at first glance, there is not much draw to living in northern Louisiana. We don’t have a beach, we don’t have new and exciting things to do, we don’t have huge historical landmarks or cool museums to go see.
And then there is France
An exciting new culture, new places, new language, new experiences, new people, new everything. It is easy to see the draw, and it was this draw that brought me to France to study abroad in the first place. Indeed, it does live up to all my expectations. In the first few weeks here I have experienced new French style meals at Le Commerce, the local café, and met new people, both French and American. I have learned more French than I ever learned in the one semester of French I took in high school. I have seen Paris and the Eiffel Tower, the house of da Vinci and numerous chateaux. I have visited the Louvre and seen the Mona Lisa. And it has been absolutely amazing!
But if there is one thing I have learned, it’s that experiencing a new culture opens one’s eyes to the beauty that is all around you. Including the beauty of your own home.
So often, we wish so hard to be away from our homes that we fail to see the beauty that is right in front of us. We don’t value the support or strength our families give to us or the beauty that can literally be found in our own back yards. We don’t appreciate the tiny museums about local history that some person has dedicated their lives to caring for. To the average American, especially the American teenager, these beauties go unnoticed. Mainly because we don’t take the time to look.
Not to diminish the amazing people, culture, and places of France. Because truly they are amazing. I have met more of the nicest and most genuinely happy people here than I have met in my entire life. I have seen the most beautiful gardens and buildings even in the tiny village of Pontlevoy.
But we can’t let these foreign beauties diminish the beauty of home. For truly, when one looks hard enough, beauty can be found not just in the gardens of Versailles, but in our own backyards as well.
