The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
Author: Bree Westfall | Major: Psychology | Semester: May Intersession 2023
The AIFS study and travel program was easily one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life. I got to travel Europe, learn so much about European culture and art, and made some the best new friends. I chose this program because it focused on travelling and experiencing so much in a little over 3 weeks. As a very indecisive person, I couldn’t choose one country or specific city to study abroad in, so I chose this program to get a glimpse into European culture in 3 major countries. While I am less interested in actual art history, I am very interested in the psychology of art and human culture. This program gave me insight into how art differs all over the world, asked thought-provoking questions about how people can interpret art differently and why humans even create art, and gave me a taste of different cultures around Europe. I learned so much about the world and myself during this program, which I believe will aid will in my academic and professional goals. While unconventional, this art and culture program allowed me to learn so much about human psychology and creative endeavors from around the globe. I think this will give me the upper hand when it comes to graduate school and growing as a person and academic in the field of psychology. The class I took was very unique, as we didn’t go to a university to take them. We went to class in a new place in each city, which is obviously very different from the typical American class. The course was separated into two halves with two different teachers. The first half of the class focused more on art history itself, while the second half was more focused on the interpretation of art, the art of museums themselves, and the psychology of art creation. I personally enjoyed the second half of the course much more because it was less lecture-based and more about the discussion of how we each can interpret art forms differently. Our final assignment was to design an original museum, including the layout, collections and exhibits, and how we would entice people to visit, which I found to be so interesting and different from any assignment I’ve ever done. My museum was based on my personal favorite form of art: fictional books. While paintings and drawings are what we typically think of when we talk about art, I find writing and book design to be an art form in its own way. I designed a museum that really played into a dark academia aesthetic that fiction readers love and included things like first edition books, beautiful cover art, and genre-themed rooms that every book reader could find themselves lost in. The academic side of this program was so beautifully unique, and I loved all of it.
Because we travelled so much and visited so many art museums throughout these three countries, we had a lot of time to navigate these cities on our own and learn a lot about the cultures of each country. The first major thing that stood out to me in each country was different the architecture is from that in the States. Everything looks like it was pulled from a history textbook, with Greek and Roman style buildings everywhere and even the most mundane buildings having the most exquisite designs. Travelling within the cities themselves was also insanely different, as you take a metro almost anywhere. It was such quick travel and so much easier to navigate than I thought it would be. The food was absolutely amazing in France and Italy. Both places are a bread-lover’s dream. I ate so many carbs on this trip, but luckily I walked around 5-6 miles every day so the energy was definitely needed. One thing that caught me off guard about Europe in a personal way, however, was that colored hair is definitely a novelty. I had several people taking pictures of my hair and lots of strange looks walking down the streets, but nothing too crazy that made me feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
Overall, this program was incredible, and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking to travel and experience European culture. The only downside to the program is that there are no rest days. You have to expect 10–12-hour days every single day and lots of travelling between cities. The trains are a little overwhelming, and I got very overstimulated at times, but I wouldn’t change this experience for anything. When I finally got home last week, I got a large iced coffee (be prepared for only hot coffee in France and Italy), and took a nice long nap snuggled up with my cats who I missed dearly. While exhausting, I would have never gotten to experience this without the financial aid I was given, and I will be forever grateful to the Honors College for allowing me to have this experience.