Across The Ocean
Aggie senior experiences Europe through study abroad program
As a senior at Texas A&M University, Jessica Long of El Campo recently returned from a marketing study abroad trip for 26 days. Long was one of 78 students chosen for the program based on her application and essay.

Jessica Long, a senior A&M marketing major, spent part of her summer touring Europe and learning about businesses abroad. Here she shares her experiences and impressions, like visiting the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Contribute Photo

"Students were selected carefully after submitting an application and essay on why we should be picked to go on the trip," Long said. "We traveled all over Europe to London, England; Paris, France; Nice, France; Innsbruck, Austria; Lucerne, Switzerland; and Munich, Germany."

While in overseas, Long discovered two things: "Europe is totally different from the U.S. and it is extremely expensive also."

The group participated in 14 scheduled professional presentations with different companies including: Parliament and Marks & Spencer in London; Galleries Lafayette in Paris; Parfumerie Fragonard in Nice; Leitner Technologies, Haller Textiles, and Swarovski Crystal Worlds in Austria; Ebfinanz AG(Private Swiss Banking) in Switzerland; and the Audi production plant in Germany.

"I really enjoyed visiting Parliament," she said. "It was gorgeous, and we had a really interesting tour, seeing the Queen's throne and learning a lot about the government system in London."

But the trip wasn't all business, there was time for leisure time Long admitted.

"I did a lot of shopping at Galleries Lafayette," Long said. "It is a massive seven-story buiding that has different departments separated on the seven different stories, so that each story is only one category. There was a huge toy store on one floor alone and a gift shop on the very top floor. I really enjoyed the layout and the choices of Galleries Lafayette."

One of Long's favorite stops was the Parfumerie Fragonard.

"They make unique perfumes that you can only buy in that one city, Eze, France, out of the entire world," she said. "All of their fragrances are made on-site. They offer so many different products, such as soaps, bath gels, colognes and of course, perfumes."

Swarovski Crystal Worlds was another schedule tour.

"It was so amazing," she said. " I have never seen so much sparkling wonders in my life. If you've never heard of it, you walk through the building and just see amazing works with crystals galore. Everything sparkles and is very unique and beautiful. It also had a Swarovski store at the very end, and I did end up spending entirely too much." The Audi production plant, located in Ingolstadt, Germany, was another interesting tour.

"I really wasn't that interested in going here, but this tour ended up to be very neat," Long said. "We actually got to walk around the production lines and see the actual processes of making the different cars. The technology in this place was amazing. Most of the processes are done mechanically, and it really is a sight to see. You couldn't take any pictures though."

On the days the group did not have professional visits, they tood advantage of free days in each city.

While in London, Long visited the Louvre, which holds the Mona Lisa.

"The painting was actually quite smaller than I would have imagined it, but it was still amazing to see in person," she said. "I also visited the London Tower, which has the queen's crown jewels. The crown jewels are the two largest diamonds in the world, one in her crown and one in her scepter. They were absolutely amazing to see."

Paris turned out to be another favorite place for Long.

"I got to see the Eiffel Tower and go to the very top floor," she said. "The view was gorgeous, and we also watched the midnight light show where the tower is lit up for 10 minutes with lights sporadically going off all over the tower. It almost made me cry. It was so beautiful and so exciting to be in Paris.

I also went on a bike tour hosted by Fat Tire Bike Tours, which is an Aggie owned company. I think that this was one of the best tours I have ever been on. We rode all over Paris on our bikes, and I had so much fun. It was a great way to tour Paris and something unique."

The next stop was Nice. "Nice was just a beautiful, beautiful place. We visited Monaco, and actually got to gamble at the Monte Carlo Casino. I lost about $200, but I had lots of fun doing it. It is a beautiful casino. I never in my life dreamed that my first gambling experience would be in Monaco at the Monte Carlo Casino."

The fun continued as the group made its way to Austria where long did some paragliding.

"You get strapped to a guide then basically run off of one of the Swiss Alps. It was an amazing experience that was a lot of fun." Long said.

She also went white-water rafing on the Inn River.

"I had never been before but had always wanted to. The water was about 40 degrees, so we had to wear wet suits. It was a level three (out of five) river."

Munich, Germany proved to be a lot of fun, Long said.

"Most of the Aggies I was with found a place called Haufbrauhaus," she said. "It is an amazing true German experience. It had a live German band all the time and beer served by the liter. It was a totally different experience. One of the most memorable times is when we were all at Haufbrauhaus and had amazing Aggie spirit and sang our Aggie fight song."

The groups also visited the Dachau Memorial.

"This was a very somber visit," she said. "There is a memorial dedicated on the concentration camp grounds. You can walk around and see where all of the barracks were and walk through the crematorium grounds. There is a garden-like walk with memorials to the unknown dead throughout. It was extremely sad to be at this place, but I am glad that I got to experience it."

Long learned a great deal from the places they visited.

"I feel this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip. I am grateful that I was chosen to participate. I gained many new friendships and had more fun than I would have ever imagined."

Long is a 2005 graduate of El Campo High School and the daughter of Sherry and David Long of El Campo.