The Start of it All

Travel makes you modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world

— Gustave Flaubert

As many of you know, I am very passionate about traveling. To this day, I am not sure where my drive came from. I lived in a very rural part of Pennsylvania most of my life and the only trips my family ever went on were to the Jersey Shore. My father sometimes traveled for work, but my mother never had any interest. I often think maybe my passions came out of the fact that I didn’t have the opportunity to travel and go on nice vacations like my friends did. I thought if my parents weren’t going to take me somewhere, I would take myself. And at 16 years old, that’s what I did.

June 2014-

I had just graduated high school in the top 10% of my class and was accepted into Purdue University’s engineering program. I had taken French classes throughout middle and high school, and at the end of the year our french class had a 10 day trip planned. I started asking my parents in the fall of 2013 when the information on the trip became available. Given that I had taken french for so many years, I thought it was a wonderful idea to get to visit and use my skills.

My last name is LaRiviere, and has the direct translation of “the river”. My grandparents on my fathers side had the french genes, and I was the only one in the family who was continuing the language. My grandmother used to write to me in her broken french, after settling in New England for the latter years of her life. I used these examples in the reasons why I thought my parents should let me go on this trip. After begging for months, I finally got the approval.

My parents agreed to split the cost with me. From my memory, the 10 day trip cost around $4000. On my 15th birthday I got a job and had been working since. I saved up a lot of money and started a payment plan with my father, sending him ~200$ a month until the trip.

When the time for the trip came around, I was SO excited. Not only was this my first international trip, but it was the first time I had ever been on a plane! Yep. My first flight was an overnight to Paris from Philadelphia. I wasn’t nervous or anxious at all, just so excited to finally go on a trip! I boarded my flight with my classmates and luckily Mason and I had a row of 3 seats to ourselves! After a few hours I tried to sleep for the night, and would wake up in a strange yet magical place.

And that’s how it all started. One incredible eye-opening experience in a foreign country. I realized how little I knew about the world, and I made it a goal of mine to learn as much as I could.