Ruby Mercado

A Conversation with Ruby Mercado

Why did you choose to participate in the Study Abroad program?

I am from a small town, and I found myself longing to discover the world outside my small community. Studying abroad always sparked my interest because traveling seemed fun to me. When I found out that the honors program at A&M-Commerce offered a study abroad program, it sort of finalized my decision to apply. While I did not know exactly where we were going or if I qualified, I knew I wanted to be part of it. My interest in traveling outside the United States is what really drew me to this experience. Ultimately, my choice to study abroad with the Honors College was due to the simplicity of the experience. The staff made sure the process was simple, which made it easy to say yes to.

What surprised you the most about your experience?

What surprised me the most was how easy it was to get around in the countries we visited. In all three cities in Germany and France, we were able to walk or ride the train to all the places we wanted to visit. Before the trip, I was extremely nervous about the thought of making my way around a foreign country in my free time without any teachers. However, my group of friends and I did not struggle to make our way around like I had imagined. Not knowing how to speak German or French was also a big concern of mine. Despite this, every place we visited had someone who spoke English. It was intimidating at first to have to navigate around unknown cities, but it turned out to be surprisingly easy.

What was your favorite part of your time overseas?

I enjoyed having free time to explore the cities on my own. While we did not have as much time as we would have liked, we still had the time to see most of what we had planned to explore. It was nice to be able to do our own thing without worrying about what other people wanted to do. My group of friends and I decided to visit Museum Island in Berlin and we had a particularly enjoyable time. From learning how to ride the train on our own, to seeing amazing sculptures and paintings, this day was definitely one of my favorite memories of my time there.

Another favorite part about my time overseas was the ability to go to whatever restaurants we wanted. Rather than being forced to go in some large group to eat together, we got to eat lunch and dinner on our own, which gave us the freedom to try new and enticing foods. I love eating, and trying new foods overseas was on my bucket list. The food was also one of my favorite parts of my time overseas.

How do you intend to use this experience in the future?

I believe that this program has helped change my perspective on the world. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that the world is much bigger than you think, and that people come from diverse backgrounds. Seeing just how different Europe is from the United States makes me interested in furthering my knowledge of other cultures. There are so many countries in this world that I am interested in visiting, and this experience has served as a sort of beginning. I intend to use this experience in the future by taking what I have learned and applying it to my future trips as well as my everyday life.

What is your advice to students who want to study abroad?

Not everyone gets the privilege of going overseas with a planned itinerary and everything booked for you. The staff made this trip extremely easy and gave us a perfect balance of things to do and free time. My advice to students who want to study abroad and participate in this program is to absolutely go for it. This trip was a great first experience overseas and gave me such a unique perspective on life. Being able to visit other countries allows you to see cultures and lifestyles that are different from your own, which I believe is an unbelievably valuable experience. If you are interested in studying abroad, I would highly recommend this program.