Like so many travellers will attest, the best trips are often not made by the scenery, monuments or museums that you see; they are made by the people that you ecounter. New friends and the subsequent realisation of the universality of human experience - the "same-ness" of all people, regardless of race or nationality - is a far more memorable and profound experience than merely ascending the Eiffel Tower or seeing the Mona Lisa. It is for this reason that I have not aimed to necessarily see all of the tourist attractions of Paris; I have aimed to engage with the city and the people within it. Specifically, my experience has been focussed around Sciences Po (the university that I have attended), and the diverse range of people studying alongside me.
Never before have I been in an environment with such a high concentration of motivated, intelligent and educated individuals whose interests are similar to my own. It is with sadness, therefore, that I farewell them as we part ways to return to our home countries, which are as diverse as Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Hong Kong, the US, Japan, Australia... I have made some great friends who I will miss dearly.
I could go on, but I wont, mostly because I think I have already made my point. In case it wasn't clear: don't travel solely to see attractions; travel to engage with and understand others. You will probably find that you are not as different as you might think.
