Travel Changes You

I love to tell people about my experiences studying, working, and living abroad in France. I'm very fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend the past three summers in three (very unique) regions of the country. Yet, I'd argue that those experiences have done much more for me in addition to the self-evident linguistic and cultural immersion they've offered.

In my first summer, I undertook a Princeton-sponsored course and internship in Aix-en-Provence. While I was there, my classmates and I explored Provence and the Riviera through both guided trips and excursions we planned ourselves. Highlights included the very picturesque Avignon, Arles, St. Tropez, Nice, and Monaco. Furthermore, staying with host families encouraged our integration into the language and local life. Overall, this was my first time in Europe and solo traveling, which I'll further reflect upon below.

The following summer, I completed a research internship at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. I lived alone in an Airbnb in the 14th Arrondissement (though my favorite place to spend time soon became the 6th). Spending that summer in the City of Light was incredibly rewarding; although, I, like many true Parisians, did eventually love to hate how crowded the Metro becomes during Rush Hour. Nonetheless, as I integrated into this new environment over time, I observed how a once-unfamiliar place became my temporary home. I formed small friendships with co-workers, shopkeepers, and restaurant staff I saw repeatedly. I was no longer a total stranger. Yet, while wandering through the streets I no longer needed Google Maps to navigate, I was still aware of the unique degree of anonymity I possessed and the responsibility to look after myself that it entailed.

At that point, my friends at Princeton and elsewhere already saw me as "the guy who manages to spend his summers in France". And although I didn't originally plan to go back a third time, that's what I ultimately did to fulfill the requirements of my language minor. This time, I enrolled in a newly-created Princeton-led study abroad program to the French Basque region. Importantly, the course emphasized an exchange component with students at the university in Bayonne. We also interacted with several NGOs from the area and frequently spoke with locals about their experiences in this uniquely multilingual area of France. That's not to say that we didn't also take advantage of the area's natural beauty as well, which includes the Atlantic Ocean and the lush green foothills of the Pyrenees. My personal favorite was a sunrise hike to the top of La Rhune.

I frequently reflect on what I've learned from all these experiences. I think, beyond the cultural enrichment and ability to speak a foreign language, traveling and living abroad have transformed my sense of personal responsibility and how I interact with others. Before my time in France, I was a bit shy and not always inclined to speak to people I didn't know. That wasn't an option as a solo traveler, though. The consequences of not speaking up (even in a foreign language) and asking people for help far outweighed the social discomfort I might've experienced. For example, imagine not asking someone the direction a train is going. At best, you avoid the interaction and arrive at your destination. However, in the worst case, you travel across Europe in the wrong direction (which I've heard people say has happened to them before). More generally, if things go wrong while abroad, the onus falls on you to solve the problem. At the same time, it's also worth noting that the anonymity I had acted as a sort of buffer against my shyness. If things got awkward, I found solace in the reality that they had no idea who I was and was unlikely to ever see them again. Situations like these forced me out of my comfort zone frequently enough that I became confident that I could take care of myself (and others when family visited) and talk to practically anyone (and doing so in English was as if it was in Easy Mode).

I'm writing about these ideas because I believe these insights and self-growth have and will continue to serve me well in the future. As I connect and communicate with various stakeholders on my journey to leverage machine learning, AI, and optimization to significantly impact healthcare, I'll need to employ the communication skills I've honed (and will continue to improve) to understand the complex interaction of technical capability, trust, workflow integration, and incentive alignment that are at the heart of the sector's inherent challenges. For, if you don't, you're likely to fall short of building something people want. Ultimately, I understand that it'll be my job to use conversation as a tool to empathetically unearth the nuances of the problems I intend to solve.