Hi! My name is Dontay Downer, but no, I’m not going down under for this trip… Abbey Road Programs will be taking me, a traveling rookie, to four of the largest cities in Europe!
During the Western Civilization program, I will be trekking the sizable spaces of the Parthenon in Athens, experiencing the grand Colosseum in Rome, cooking dinner with an Italian family in Florence, and getting my very own tour of the Tour de Eiffel in France. While these are a few of the things I’m looking forward to doing, I feel that the experience shouldn’t be one of touring, but rather one of traveling. Sure, the tourist landmarks and attractions are great, but what I’m looking forward to most is actually experiencing the cities and countries I’m in.
Spending the day as an average American teenager in a foreign city and culture as a foreign teenager would, learning about the sites and the history behind them as I stand where the ancients stood long ago, and discovering how I, as an American student, connect with people from another land are all things I’m looking forward to doing. I chose to study abroad, because for one thing, I’ve never been outside of the country before (shocker, right?), and I’d like to experience the things I’ve mentioned before and more! In the future I know I may have to do international work or meet with people who aren’t from here, so this should be good practice as well. All in all, I’m really looking forward to this trip and can’t wait to get started!
-Dontay