Au Revoir, France.
Our final days in France were spent wine and olive oil tasting at one of the oldest, family-run mills in the nation, Chatêau Virant; visiting the oldest family-run soap factory in the nation, Marius Fabre; and spending a day in Marseilles visiting the beaches, the Basilica, and taking a tour of the beautiful cliff sides along the coast. Below you can find some pictures that I took from these last few days.
I am immensely thankful for my study abroad experience. It is bittersweet to be writing this final post from France, but I am grateful for my opportunities. In our final week, our program studies culminated into a final presentation on a satellite mission to measure light pollution. This presentation was given to the directors of the 4 schools in which we attended, one of them being a 2-star general for the French Air Force. I can say that I learned more practical, application-based knowledge than most of my education at home. Not saying that my education was bad, but there was definitely less of an application base to the curriculum, and more of an emphasis on research and theory. This work makes me excited to join the industry and start working on awesome projects like this one.
The GEA Summer Space Program is something that I will remember forever. From dining under the Eiffel Tower, to wine tasting in Salon de Provence, to watching the airmen take off from Ecole de l’Air, to taking boat tours of the beautiful cliff-side beaches in Marseilles – it was a journey of a lifetime. However, traveling for a month, spending 4 weeks in 6 different cities, where you don’t speak the native language, and hauling around a month’s worth of luggage can take a toll on anyone. That being said, I am ready to return. I am ready to bring back my newfound knowledge of a different culture, and see how I can become a better person because of it. Living somewhere else for this long of a time has really put a new perspective on meting new people.
Finally, if you are considering going abroad, anywhere – stop. Stop considering. JUST DO IT. I promise you that you will enjoy it and earn so much from the experience. I will recommend going abroad to everyone, and the GEA Space Summer Program to anyone remotely interested in space systems.
Go Blue, and go abroad!
Scott McCormick B.S.E. Aerospace Engineering ‘18 M. Eng. Space Engineering ‘19