The idea of traveling abroad by yourself for the first time can be daunting. This past summer, I studied abroad through CEA CAPA in Paris, France, and it was the first time I had ever traveled abroad by myself. Coming into the program, I was really nervous about having forgotten something or getting lost in a brand-new country far away from home. But ultimately, I made it through the program and had the most amazing five weeks of my life. I came out of this program so much more confident in myself, knowing that I had been able to navigate through my first experience traveling abroad on my own. So, here are a couple of things I learned along the way that helped me as a new solo traveler. 

One of our first excursions was the Bateaux Mouche which was a boat tour on the Seine! 

Remember You Aren’t Completely Alone! 

When I prepared for my trip abroad, I was really stressed about how I was going to figure out everything about a new country all by myself. But don’t forget—you aren’t alone! These programs are structured to give you independence to discover on your own, but there are so many support systems to help you along the way. 

Coming from Arizona, where there isn’t a lot of public transportation, I was most nervous about navigating the metro and not being able to use my phone to navigate if I couldn’t find a phone plan. But as soon as I arrived, the CEA CAPA staff had so many amazing resources to help me get started. They suggested a couple of options for phone plans and easily directed me to where I could get them. They gave me a map and explained the simplest and easiest ways to navigate the metro. And the most comforting part for me was that the staff and our professors gave us contacts from the CEA CAPA team that we could reach out to if we ever needed help or got lost. This helped me feel empowered to make decisions on my own but with a bit of helpful advice pointing me in the right direction. 

My roommates and I managed to navigate our way to the CEA CAPA center on the metro for our first day of school. 

Ultimately, though, the best support for me was the other students on my study abroad trip. Because all of us were in the same boat trying to figure everything out, we leaned on each other a lot. Some of the more experienced travelers provided tips, those who had been to France before shared what they remembered doing, and others shared what they had researched. Together, we did our best to figure it out. We were by no means perfect, but it was a comfort to know that I had other people just like me that I could share this experience with. My favorite memories from the trip are from the times my roommates and I got lost on the metro before we learned to figure it out. And now, all of us have left as pros on the Paris metro. 

I got to see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre! 

Lean on Your Host Family 

My host family was a huge source of support, especially being so far from my own family during my travels. My host mom was so excited to hear about the places that my roommates and I explored every day, and she was always ready with recommendations for places that we should see next. From the day we walked in the door, she made sure that we practiced our French as much as possible and encouraged me to keep trying to practice my French with her, even when I made mistakes. It was really comforting to have a space like a home to come back to every day and someone who looked forward to hearing about my adventures.  

Getting to know so much about my host mom made France and the other Parisian locals a lot less intimidating, so I could feel more confident immersing myself into French culture. Her enthusiasm helped encourage me to continue exploring France and to learn as much as I could while I was there. 

My friends and I had a really awesome time at the beach Saint Malo on our trip to Normandie 

Do the Things You Want to Do! 

There are so many amazing excursions planned by CEA CAPA that were highlights of my trip, but I also really loved all the mini excursions I had the chance to do on my own. Especially in a city like Paris, there are so many things to see, so I made a list of all the places I wanted to go—from museums to pop-up thrift markets to cafés—and tried to see them all. 

At first, I was nervous to go do things on my own, even if I really wanted to. But eventually, when I started to get used to the city, I started trying to go do things even if it meant doing them by myself. I started going to museums and parks just because I wanted to. Sometimes, I would run into some of my friends from the program, and other times it would just be me. During these solo excursions, I not only had so much fun because I got to see so many of the things that I wanted to, but I also became so much more confident in myself. 

Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur was one of my favorite places to visit in Paris.

 I was proud of myself for being able to do the exact thing I had been nervous about when I started the trip: navigating through a foreign country on my own to do the things I wanted to do. I realized that I had learned so many skills in such a short time, and that I had become confident in my ability to adapt and explore a brand-new country on my own. 

Going abroad on my own for the first time was definitely scary and stressful at first, but it gave me the chance to explore, travel, and be independent with the support I needed to give me confidence that I could do it. I am proud to say that I traveled abroad on my own, and I can’t wait to do it again!