My Time Studying Abroad
For as long as I’ve known about study abroad programs being a thing I knew I wanted to study somewhere else. My whole family has always encouraged me to take any opportunity to travel and see new things. My grandpa was a diplomat and served various places in Europe and South America, so my mom had the ability to grow up in different country and see lots of different perspectives and places, and she’s always talked about how the ability to travel and see the world gives you such a different perceptive and outlook on life. I was very excited when I met with my counselor freshman year and talked about study abroad opportunities through VCU, he told me about a program called SRISA in Florence Italy. From then on I knew my plan was to study abroad in Florence spring semester of my junior year.
However, as the time came to go to Florence I started realizing how scary it was to go to a different country where I’ve never been, didn’t speak the language, and wouldn’t be able to see my family for four month. I was so excited and so scared at the same time, some days I felt like I was crazy for making the decision to study abroad, but now I’m so glad I went. It was the best time of my life, I’m so grateful for how much I was able to travel and learn from seeing other cultures as well as just learning more about myself. I was hard at times and scary and I was worried at first that it might not live up to my expectation but in the end stepping out of your comfort zone and evolving as a person is always something that’s extremely important.
Photo from my wine tasting class.
Being In Italy and most of Europe taught me that the rest of the world has a much slower pace which was nice and hard at the for me to adjust to. There is so much more of a work life balance in Italy, people stroll when their walking places and meals out are something to be enjoyed rather than something to get through. I had a lot more alone time than what I was used to which has now made me really appreciate spending time with just myself and enjoying it rather than being uncomfortable being alone. I’m really proud of how I was able to make new friends, make a routine, learn about myself, navigate in other country's, and solo travel.
Giunti Odeon, an old movie theater turned into a bookstore/place to study in the day and still operates as a movie theater at night.
While I studied abroad I was able to visit…
Austria: Vienna and Salzburg
Budapest, Hungary
Paris, France twice!
Marrakech, Morocco
Switzerland: Interlaken and Zurich
London, England
Tenerife, Canary Islands
Italy: Rome, Tuscany, Amalfi Coast, Sicily, Venice, and Milan
Photo of me on the street I lived on during study abroad.