Statement of Purpose

Throughout my life, the concept of traveling through Europe has seemed full of mystery, intrigue, and limitless possibilities. It seems that hardly an area of my life has gone untouched by the Continent's influence. Hearing stories of my aunt's bicycle trip through England and Scotland when she was in college; discovering the poetry of Wordsworth, Shelley, and Byron; learning to appreciate Chopin, Bach, and the Beatles; my first encounter with the Berry family's adventures at John Irving's Hotel New Hampshire in Vienna; studying German language for four semesters at Mount Holyoke- the list of my encounters with European culture is as endless as it is eclectic. With each new cultural influence, my desire to travel through Europe has increased.
I feel that my curiosity about so many aspects of recent and historical Europe can only be satiated by experiencing Europe firsthand. I find that I always learn things more thoroughly if I have something tangible to work with. I have derived all I can from simply reading books, hearing stories, and looking at pictures. I want to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch Europe; it is only through firsthand experience that I can gain the cultural enrichment I seek.

I spent this past summer working in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. A large number of Germans visited the park, and although their English was often much better than my German, I would attempt to converse with them in their native language. It was through practicing with native speakers that I finally realized the usefulness and just plain fun of knowing another language, and on this trip, I would like to improve my German. I feel that total immersion is the only way to achieve any degree of proficiency. I am currently taking an Intermediate German class to prepare myself for travel abroad, and I intend to study Italian for one semester as well.

Language skills, however, are not the only thing I hope to acquire while traveling in Europe. I would also welcome the chance to assert my independence. Traveling alone would certainly teach me self-sufficiency on a new level. I would acquire new skills relating to money management, navigation, and general independence. As one who is often encumbered by unnecessary possessions, I hope to learn to keep my interests mobile. This trip would hopefully teach me how to minimize clutter in my life- both physical clutter and emotional clutter. Through traveling alone, I hope to learn many things about myself that I have never had the time or opportunity to find out. I believe that a solitary pilgrimage such as this one sets forth tests that can't be taken any other way.

Of equal importance to the question "What will this award do for me?", I think, is the question, "What can I give back?" I would not be undertaking this trip for purely selfish motives. As required by the award guidelines, I would keep a daily journal of my travels, but I would go one step further and publish the journal on the World Wide Web, along with photographs, sketches, and other things I pick up along the way. (I am always looking for new subject matter with which to build websites.) The finished product could serve as a source of information for future first-time travelers to Europe. (This application, in fact, is 'mirrored' at http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~jsliese/europe/main.html)

I have created the following itinerary based on what I already know about my traveling style- namely, that I have a short attention span and like to be constantly on the go. Consequently, I have packed in a vast array of activities, museums, and other sights. In the itinerary, many of the key locations come with short explanations for my choices. As I travel, I might find out that I don't have enough time to see everything, or perhaps that I have too much free time. Hopefully, I will be able to accomplish everything on my itinerary; if not, learning how to prioritize will become another one of the many lessons I learn while on my trip.

In short, I have wanted to travel in Europe for most of my life. I hope that such a trip would lend an aspect of tangibility to all the abstract impressions and curiosities I possess about the Continent, improve my skills on a variety of levels, and create a source of information for future travelers. I look at this trip as much more than simply a trip- I believe that there is something to the cliché of "going to Europe to find oneself." While abroad, I hope to gain a new perspective on myself that will change the way I look at my own corner of the world.

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