Student Spotlight: BAFF Experience by Gabriela RaGe
It’s weird because I’m usually afraid of the unknown. But from the moment I stepped on the plane I knew it would be a truly unforgettable experience. At the beginning I thought that two weeks would be such a long time to be in a different environment a different place on the other side of the world with people I didn’t know but honestly this time flew by so fast. Now I don’t even want to leave because I love it so much here. Even being here and now being a part of the BAFF and CIEE family is wonderful and truly a life changing experience. It’s interesting how easily a person can go from being scared from the unknown to being able to love and experience so much you don’t want to leave. The first night we got here I remember driving on the bus and the bus ride taking forever. And then when we finally arrived I finally had a realization “wow I’m actually here”. And the first thing I said to myself was enjoy it, because this truly is an experience that I would never want to forget.
Some people would say that because the Baltic states are such small countries right next to each other they would be really similar but actually the more time you spend with people from these countries you get to learn about their culture and that actually they are completely different but awesome in a lot of different ways. Ones are more outgoing which is good, ones are more reserved which is also good because at the end of the day we are our own people and we all are completely different. But an experience like this one has shown me that, no matter where you are from or where you are going, it’s good to be different because that’s what makes you you.
This experience has made me look at the world from a different perspective. It has taught me to never take an experience like this one for granted. Because this truly is a once in a lifetime experience and moving forward I will be looking forward to similar things that help me improve my knowledge and improves me as a person.
It kind of makes me sad that we are leaving in a couple of days because I’ve gotten so used to waking up every morning and seeing these wonderful people and being able to work with them and get to know them. A really vivid memory of realization that I have is when we went on the sunset cruise. And as we watched the sunset we sang songs together and talked and it was just wonderful. At that moment in that time I really had a step back and a moment to think about this whole experience and appreciate how much these two weeks have given me.
This program has thought me that I can become who ever I want. The world truly is my dance floor. It was a summer I would never, ever forget.
