Junior pitcher Constance Phelan has taken her talents overseas for the 2019 Fall Semester to study at Suffolk's Madrid campus. While stamping her academic passport, Phelan will check in with GoSuffolkRams.com from time-to-time to tell Ram Nation what she has been up to abroad.

Below is the fifth and final installment, featuring Phelan's trips to Rome, Paris and back to the states. 

Everybody said, “It’ll go by in the blink of an eye.” When I stepped off the plane in August or as I started classes in September, however, it felt like my time abroad was going to last forever. But just like everybody said, I blinked and when I opened my eyes, I was running through Dublin airport to catch my connecting flight back to the U.S. As I sit by the pool at my house in Florida, it feels unreal to me that I spent my fall semester in Europe. Studying abroad is not the dream that everyone thinks it is (or that Instagram makes it look like), but it was an experience that I would not trade for anything. 

My final two European cities that I checked off my travel list were Rome and Paris. 

Rome is somewhere I have always dreamed of visiting and is the only place that I had any sort of expectation for. To be able to see the incredible structures that the Romans built was surreal. It is astonishing that these buildings still stand today, such as the Pantheon and the Coliseum. Pictures are not able to convey how breathtaking they are. My favorite part was the Roman Forum, from which you can look out to where all the ancient buildings used to be. I was also able to visit the Vatican while in Rome. There, I climbed to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica and saw the inside of the Sistine Chapel. Rome was nothing like what I thought it would be. It reminded me a lot of Spain, with the biggest difference being that I actually enjoyed the food in Italy. 

Paris is another one of those places I always dreamed of visiting. So many people have told me that they are not fans of Paris, and it made me worried that I would have a similar experience there. Nevertheless, Paris ended up being one of my favorite cities that I visited. Since reading The Da Vinci Code, I have wanted to see the Louvre museum more than anything. Inside, I was able to see the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, among many other famous pieces of artwork. I was also able to visit the Palace of Versailles, which was another item on my bucket list since learning about it in high school. One of the most bone chilling sights I saw while abroad was the Catacombs of Paris. It was crazy to think about how many bodies must be buried beneath such a lively city. In addition, I, of course, also saw the Eiffel Tower, both during the day and at night. The Eiffel Tower lit up at night was one of the prettiest things I have ever seen. I was happy that my time in Europe concluded with a trip to Paris, even if it meant sacrificing time I should have spent studying for exams. 

It was only fitting that I ended my time abroad with the most stressful travel day of my life. What started out as me being at the airport way earlier than necessary, quickly turned into me arguing with security over a Kindle, before rushing to a gate where there was no plane. Of course, the one time I had a connecting flight was the one time the plane was not on time. I had not mentally prepared myself to have to sprint through Dublin’s airport in order to make it to my second flight. After travelling for over 15 hours, I finally made it to the land of Disney tourists. I hope that I never have to be on a plane for more than six hours ever again. 

Studying abroad is an experience that not only teaches you about the world, but that changes your perspective on many aspects of life. Some people go abroad and have the time of their life, while others go abroad and are not so successful. My experience was mixed, but I do not regret studying abroad. When I first decided to spend my fall semester somewhere besides Boston, a classmate told me to not choose Suffolk Madrid out of convenience. She said to study in a place that you had always dreamed of going to, rather than choosing Madrid because Suffolk has a campus there. If I could go back and change one thing, I would take this girl’s advice. While Madrid helped me to improve my Spanish and to learn the culture, I do not think Spain was the best place for me. My advice to anyone thinking about studying abroad is to really put thought into where you want to be. Take the advice that I was offered, and do not just choose a place out of convenience. 

I am so thankful to have had the ability to travel across Europe and see places that I have always dreamed of seeing. I do not think there will be another time in my life where I will be able to spend three full months travelling across Europe. It has opened my eyes to so many histories and cultures that I had never paid much attention to before. Many professors told me that one semester is not enough time, and while part of me believes this is true, I am glad to be back in America. The thing that I have learned the most about myself this past semester, is how much I love the country that I live in. While I will miss my semester of adventuring, I am excited to return to Boston in the coming weeks. I only hope that the softball team has not forgotten what sarcasm is during my absence.

Fans, families, alumni and friends can check in with what Isaak and Phelan are up to over sees by following their adventures on GoSuffolkRams.com or over social media by using the hashtag #RAMsinterNATIONal.