Internationally bound, my dreams were swimming with thoughts of a variety of trends i have yet to discover, people who can guide me in the right direction, and jewelry that was not made in the U.S.A. I am studying abroad, and for the first few weeks, shopping was my goal. Then I woke up and realized that on a student’s budget, and living off of European currency, my money definitely needed to be stretched three months long.

The shock came to me more as a difference in culture than in what choices in clothing people made.. I began looking past the personification of redefining your own look, a tendency most Europeans make with their wardrobe. That’s when it hit me that I was an international traveler. The culture became an importance to me, and shopping was just a task i had to cross off my list from time to time.

I LIVE at the Chateau de Portales in Strasbourg France. I recently became used to calling it home, mostly because it’s where I spend most of my time with classes and studying, accompanying the fact that public transportation here stops just before midnight. For a working girl used to always being on the go as often as I please (a definite shocker for me), this meant I actually had to stay in at night, something I hadn't done since high school.

Growing up I had a fascination with nature. Living in Miami Beach kind of played a barrier in my camping plans. Now, I look out my window, and can see nothing but trees and walking paths, made out of dirt of course because the French do not believe in tampering with the natural state of their environment. I planned on taking advantage of the scenario, and on my first tour of the park, I went running through a meadow, and walked through a natural spring (if only my mother could see me)! I'm on a natural high.

Living life as the Europeans do is more complex to adjust to than imagined. I figured that if I knew how to adapt to living in the states, from the city to the suburbs, living in France would be a piece of cake. Honestly, it's double the work, and you need the patience of a saint and an open mind to actually take it all in with a new appreciation to living. After all, I’m not in Kansas anymore.

I have gone from living in a city that is a melting-pot of culture, to a town in which take-out and Starbucks is non-existent. The French are aware of how to live life to the fullest, slowly and with an appreciation of the simplicity of enjoying your coffee and not have to dash from one place to another. I have yet to see anyone walk at a quick pace to make it on-time anywhere.

Food is definitely not of the American sort. They don’t deep-fry, batter, or salt their meals. I guess you can say they live life the healthier way. It’s been a month and I'm shocked that I haven’t dropped the extra pounds right off with the meal plan I am on. Most of my peers, as well as I, had expected to go hungry 50 % of the time we were staying here. We were definitely wrong. Three course meals and heavy flavors have spoiled us to the point of exhaustion after every meal.

They say things are never what you imagine them to be, being European is a chief example to that old cliche; that no one likes to hear. Glamorized by the media and pictured as a fantasy to live in, there’s only one way I can say I have change my perspective of living in France. It’s just home. With one month down and two more to go, I can already see into my future and know how much I am going to miss living my life as a European Gypsy.