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| Strasbourg, France |
Outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Gonzalo said goodbye to us before we got on the electric tram. The wind was soft, the sky was blue, and the day was warm. He smiled and said simply, “Well, I hope you all had fun.” He said a few more eloquent, closing words that I now only vaguely recall—I was too busy processing the fact that our program had come to an end. In that moment, I felt joy, gratitude, and bittersweet. It had all flown by. At some point in the game, students had begun to refer to Professor Freixes as Gonzalo. There’s familiarity in the gesture, and it felt natural with how close we had all become.
Gonzalo was a phenomenal lecturer. He always broke everything down into simpler terms for those who had not taken a law or tax class before. He knew how to engage us by mixing in questions and real-world applications for maximum learning. His presentation of the material was well-organized—everyone enjoyed going to his lectures.
At the European Parliament, Gonzalo showed us his passport filled with stamps. Truly, he is a world traveler and world lecturer. In these past three weeks, he's walked more than anyone in the class save for our TA, who he travels with. In the little towns we explore, he has more enthusiasm than everyone, even though he's visited countless times before with the program.
The best way to honor Gonzalo, the program, and UCLA IEO, would be to tie together my studies, the travel component, and how it all applies to the real world. It clicked for me while visiting the European Parliament. Since practically the first day of class, students had been reading about this political and economic union. Looking up at the massive, clean-cut building in person was an unbelievable feeling.
At the European Parliament, we were shown a video of exactly why the EU was crucial to the functioning and progress of Western Europe. This was information we had long ago learned, but sitting in the conference room of the Parliament, we finally understood. We understood the importance of the single market. We understood why the lack of internal borders and unrestricted movement of goods and services promoted competition and trade. We had witnessed how it improved efficiency for us visitors first-hand.
Like with all things in life, it’s one thing to read or hear about something, and another scenario entirely to experience it for yourself.
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| European Parliament hemicycle. |
As we sat in the hemicycle of the European Parliament, where hundreds of Members of the European Parliament had sat before us to debate and vote on legislature, our bubbly guide was telling us that the only way the European Parliament operates is through compromise. No group has majority.
She went on about how voting turnout has been low in recent years - though still much higher than in the United States - and how it’s concerning because extremist groups then have disproportionately greater representation. People who are in the middle don't vote because they believe their votes don’t change anything.
However, with the recent events of the Brexit and the actions of the Trump administration, there’s been a paradoxical affect. The EU now realizes they may be alone, and its members are working even harder to compromise. Thus, the European Parliament was the intersection of our studies, our travels, and current events.
When Gonzalo said his farewell and the train approached, I could only think of how invaluable my study abroad experience was. What I’ve experienced and learned has changed my world perspective. That's the power of experiential learning.
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| International Business Law and Taxation Travel Study 2017 Class. European Parliament, Strasbourg. Edited by Keila M. |
With gratitude,
Sherry
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