Sophomore Rachel Romero had never been farther away from home than New Mexico before the summer of 2014. Now, she has traveled to four different countries across Europe and returned with a new perspective on the place she calls home.

Romero’s aunt and uncle live in Germany, but they are moving back to the United States this year. Knowing this, Romero’s family decided to help her pay for trip to visit before the chance was gone. She traveled to Germany, France, Sylvania and Luxemburg on her visit and she said she noticed some major differences while she was there.

“My parents were so excited they could do this for me,” Romero said. “It was so cool just to go explore, experience everything.”

Romero said she was concerned about the communication issues she would face on her trip.

“I was terrified,” Romero said. “I didn’t really know what was going on, and I always had to have somebody with me.”

Romero was the only member of her immediate family to make the trip.

“Growing up I always heard stories from my grandma, about all the places she had been,” Romero said. “It made me more curious to see what other places are like.”

Romero said she was able to visit many castles and tourist attractions on her visit.

”It was more historical there,” Romero said. “Everything has a meaning. It doesn’t really seem like that here.”

Romero said she would like to travel again in the future.

“My biggest dream right now is just to travel to all those places again,” Romero said. “I want to add onto the experience and just travel everywhere I can.”