Former IUSA leader travels across Europe

Alex Shortle has not shaved in five months, and his face clearly shows it. Behind the lumberjack beard sits last year’s IU Student Association president, completely content with his decision to take the school year off and travel \nthrough Europe.\n“I had done three years of school … and I felt like everything had played out for me to take the year off,” Shortle said. “I had just finished I-CORE and had finished being president and it just seemed like the prefect time to do it … it was like something was telling me to take this time off, to reflect on what I’ve done the past three years and in high school and come back a stronger person.”\nThe need for a razor isn’t the only thing that’s stronger now for Shortle. The experience, he said, was truly formative, teaching him to appreciate the smaller things and take less for granted.\n“I was alone most of the time, and that gives you a lot of time to reflect on who you are and what you’ve been doing, what you plan on doing,” Shortle said. “For a college kid, it’s just about perfect, especially three years in. You’ve had the experience of being in college, you’ve had high school, you’ve had relationships good and bad, you’ve done some things, you’ve made a lot of stuff happen, you’ve made a lot of mistakes. It gave me a chance to reflect on those mistakes and successes and the relationships I had and the relationships I wanted.”\nShortle began his adventure early last October when he departed to Dublin, Ireland with the goal of making it across Europe to Istanbul, Turkey. His budget, supported by a few summers of working on a ranch in Wyoming, allowed him to spend $50 a day on food and accommodation, not including travel. But while his plan seemed fine to him, his parents thought otherwise in \nthe beginning.\n“Originally they were like, ‘You’re crazy.’ … Granted, it was my money I’m spending but they pay for college so them being willing to let me take a year off and postpone my graduation was huge,” Shortle said. “I think I’m just lucky to have such \ncool parents.”\nShortle’s travels took him through the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, the former Yugoslavia and finally Turkey. Some destinations, however, were more memorable than others.\n“The highland area of Scotland is just absolutely amazing,” Shortle said. “It’s very untouched, unlike the rest of the UK. It’s very wide open, very rural. In terms of a country as a whole, Sweden’s amazing. Stockholm has to be the most beautiful city in Europe … the people, the food and the culture are brilliant. I really love Sweden.”\nAesthetics weren’t all that caught Shortle’s interest. The historical significance of a few places added an element to \nthe experience.\n“The most interesting was the former Yugoslavia: Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Slovenia,” Shortle said. “That whole area is incredible. The recent history is still being written. I mean, you’re in Kosovo and it’s not even a country. It’s a UN protectorate and you’re surrounded by UN people. That was \nan experience.”\nBut the trip was not free of obstacles, Shortle said. Communication and financial difficulties all contributed to the adventure.\n“Being willing to talk to people having this American accent is a hurdle you do have to cross and you have to get over it,” Shortle said. “You tend to hide your Americanism.”\nHowever, Shortle didn’t forget his Americanism when it was most important.\n“I had to make it to see the Colts’ Super Bowl game so I went back to Vienna, because I knew it was a place I’d be able to watch it,” Shortle said. “I saw the Colts’ game at four in the morning, saw them win and went crazy. It was a strange experience being so removed \nfrom it.”\nShortle plans on taking a job in Washington, D.C., for the summer and returning to IU as a senior in the School of Business next fall. While he seems excited to return to Bloomington, he said his approach to his studies has changed.\n“I think it gives you a different motivation,” Shortle said. “Business for me was always just playing around with money. You get money and that’s your point, that’s your purpose. It’s what you do with that money that’s different and that’s probably what has changed for me.”