why leuven?

CAUTION: RANDOM POST. Proceed with caution. 

So, I've been here for a little over a week now. Which is INSANE. It's really weird, because it seems like I've been here for SO LONG already, but at the same time it's gone so quickly. I don't know.. I realize that doesn't make sense. My apologies.

Anyway.. At KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, my university), I am a part of the program called PECS which is basically just a small exchange program for undergraduate American students. I think there's about 40 or 50 of us? Maybe?
The group of us had a meeting last week with our advisors about the academic expectations of KU while we're here. Also, we were given the assignment of re-writing our original statement of purpose that we first submitted in our application to the program. Interesting... right? My response is as follows!

Lauren Bowers, Hanover College
Revised Statement of Purpose, 20.9.2012

 When Roger posed the prompt to the PECS students last week to “revise” our original statement of purpose for studying abroad, I did not really see the point. After all, we have already arrived and gotten settled in, and the only thing really left is to get the semester started with classes! Regardless, I took a second look at the original statement I submitted long ago with my PECS application, and I was shocked at what I found. It seemed to be a very generic, watered down version of why any person would want to study abroad – there was nothing in the essay that was unique to Lauren Bowers wanting to study abroad. 

I do not believe that this essay was falsely written or fabricated; I just think that I did not really understand the underlying reasons as to why I really wanted to study abroad. Honestly, I don’t think I fully realized my reasons for wanting to study in a foreign country until this past week. Arriving in Leuven was a little bit terrifying and a huge adjustment to what I am used to at home, but it got easier after a few days. On a night this past week, a girl who lives in my residence invited me to come out with her to meet some friends for a drink, and I agreed to accompany her. As we were sitting at the café, it finally hit me. I was sitting at a table with five different people, who were each from five different countries, and who each had five different perspectives on education, music, sports, politics, and everything else. That is why I want to study abroad: for the people.

Hanover College is a fraction of the size that KU Leuven is, so not only am I entering a hugely diverse community but also it is much larger than anything else I have ever experienced. I have been in Leuven for little over a week and I have already met people from more countries than I can even recollect – and it is amazing! As a study abroad student, I have a unique opportunity to immerse myself in a completely new culture for just over three months, and then return to everything that is comfort and home. My goal this semester is to travel as much as possible, but also to discover Leuven, and to meet and hear the stories of people wherever I go. 

So there it is, my newly revised statement of intent! And the whole thing about being out with all these different people from different places all over the world really did happen! This past Monday actually. It was crazy awesome.
I've been meeting so many new people lately, and one of the questions they ALWAYS ask is why I'm studying abroad.. so there it is! That's why I'm studying abroad, in case any of you want to know :)


OKAY, touristy picture of the day - not sorry!
St. Peter's Church from the front, super beautiful! BYE