Lessons Learned

Ciao! Or should I say “hi!” now that I am officially back in the States? Since being home, I have missed lots of things from my time in Italy: my daily (sometimes multiple times a day) cappuccino, the drawn-out dinners filled with endless stories and laughs, waking up to the beautiful Dolomites right outside of my window, the cheap but delicious pizza and pasta. The list could go on. However, I’ve also been cherishing the time I now have to reflect on my study abroad experience–the memories, lessons learned, growth, and everything in between. In honor of the past week and a half of reflection time that I have had, I decided to share with you three things that I learned from my five weeks spent studying in and traveling around Italy. Let’s dive in:

Before traveling to Italy, I did some research on the ways American and European cultures vary. For example, I knew that we generally talked louder, ate faster, and dressed differently. I also knew that the food portion sizes would be smaller yet more nutrient dense. In fact, I wrote a research paper for my college English class, detailing the contrasting food policies of both nations. However, there were still many aspects unknown to me before my arrival. This blog will explain the things I found shocking and now do not take for granted being back home in the US.

I have to be honest. During my last week abroad with CIMBA I was craving a butter burger from Culver’s.

While spending a month in Europe eating loads of pasta, pizza, and other carb-heavy foods, you may be wondering why you don’t feel extremely full or bloated after every meal. How can we dine out several times a day on our travel weekends and not grow sick of it? For me, I can feel full for several hours after going to a restaurant simply because the dishes are dense and of a large portion size. In reference to the dining hall food, we were served pasta twice a day accompanied by bread and sometimes even pizza. In American diet culture, that many carbohydrates is a big no simply because of how unhealthy it is. To rephrase, in America, the food is seen as unhealthy. Yet these same dishes are very prevalent in Italian culture and pose very few problems for digestive health. The following paragraphs will detail why Italian cuisine affects us differently.

It has officially been a little over a month since I arrived back in the United States and boy do I miss my time in Italy. Arriving back in the US I was expecting to deal with the reverse culture shock and the adjustment to going back to work and not being able to walk everywhere and thankfully I adjusted back quickly. However, now that I have been back for a while I have had time to reflect on my time spent in Italy and I have come to appreciate the memories I have made as well as some of the important lessons I learned along the way.

I am not a well-traveled person. My family or school planned, booked, and paid for all the trips I've been on. And, growing up, my family mostly opted to travel by car so I can count how many times I’ve been on a plane with my hands. It’s safe to say that planning for the weekend trips during CIMBA was way out of my comfort zone.

Even in my hometown, I sometimes still get lost. Seriously, friends and family have a running joke about my lack of direction. Understandably, many were worried when I confidently told them I would be traveling solo on my way to Italy. With little experience in airports and three flights to manage, I was also feeling a sense of anxiety. However, I soon realized that navigating the airport solo, while intimidating, isn’t as scary as many think. Following these preparation tips, it can be a seamless transition to your CIMBA adventure.

I’ve never cared for the saying “All good things must come to an end”. While it may be entirely true, I have always had difficulty accepting that amazing experiences must end. This is exactly how I feel now that my semester abroad has been officially over for an entire month.

On Christmas Day, I always get a little bit sad that the season is ending. I adore all the music, decorations, food, and festivities Christmastime brings, and I am one of those people who never want it to end.

Finishing off this semester has been a whirlwind of emotions from stress about final exams to the sadness of leaving my new friends and Europe. This experience through the CIMBA program has been worthwhile and I am really dreading leaving Europe.

The phrase “time flies when you’re having fun” has never been more applicable in my life than it is regarding my semester abroad. With the semester winding down, each passing day is just a reminder that this whirlwind experience is almost over. It’s honestly difficult for me to fathom how much time I’ve already spent here, but upon further reflection, I realize that I have done and seen so many things, made so many friends, and changed in so many ways.

Ciao! I am pleased to say that my first big travel weekend was a success. I went to London, and I can confidently say I loved the city. Everything was breathtaking from the food to the history and architecture. As much as I loved traveling to London, it was not all smooth sailing and needless to say I learned a few important lessons.

It has been almost one month to the day since I first arrived in Italy. It is hard to believe that we are 1 ⁄ 3 of the way through this experience, as it feels like I have been here forever, but somehow not very long at all. I have already learned so many things, one of them being that I was not entirely prepared for the things to come.

It has been nearly two weeks since I arrived in Italy, and it is still sometimes hard to believe that I am actually here. Every morning, I wake up to the breathtaking views of the mountains right outside my window and am still in awe of this place. With two weeks under my belt, here is what I can tell you: travel is as challenging as it is spectacular.

Studying abroad was such a life-changing experience. It was filled with new adventures, people, challenges, rewards, and experiences. If I could travel back in time to before studying abroad, here is a list of things I would tell myself in order to maximize my time at CIMBA…

I ought to summarize my three-month furlough with sappy how to lists or what I notice the absence of after my return to the United States with long eloquence. But people who use big words only use them to sound smart.

The 12 weeks of our semester abroad are sadly up and us students have said “arrivederci” to Paderno Del Grappa and “ciao” to our family and friends at home in America. After having some time to relax and reflect on the experience of this past semester, I wanted to use my last blog to offer some advice on how students can make the most of their CIMBA experience as well as provide my final reflection and thanks to the program.

During the first week of CIMBA, one of the hardest tasks was planning a last-minute trip for the weekend. Unfortunately, when planning a trip last minute, there are always a few things that can go wrong for first-time travelers. When these obstacles happen, there is always something to learn from the experience.

5 weeks, 4 countries, 3 suitcases, 2 missed trains, and 1 canceled flight later… I’m home. However, this time home is not my tiny, little dorm room at CIMBA; it’s Fayetteville, Arkansas. It only took a few weeks for CIMBA to begin feeling like home.

Now that I have made it back home and am settled in, I would like to write my final reflections of this whole study abroad experience.

You may be concerned to land in a continent with peers you may not know. That is valid! However, I would not waste one second worrying about not making friends at CIMBA. I was lucky enough to have five of my sorority sisters join me on this excursion, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Coronavirus – it’s a hot topic these days and reasonably so. Hardly anybody knew what it was or that it even existed just a few weeks ago. Then it started to spread to South Korea, Japan, and of course Italy.

From mountains to beaches, Italy offers so many breathtaking sights to see! I had the amazing opportunity to spend my first day of March 2020 in Catania, Sicily. It was definitely an unforgettable trip especially since it was the last trip I was able to take during my stay in Italy, but that’s a topic for another blog!

Before leaving the United States, I flooded Google with searches like “study abroad tips”, “affording study abroad”, “how to pack for study abroad”, “must-see places in Europe” and anything else that could help me prepare. Is there any possible way to be 100% prepared?

Hello everyone, it’s Hannah and I am back with my final blog to talk to you about my CIMBA experience. The past three months have been a whirlwind of the best experiences of my life. Every single day was a new experience, a new feeling, and a new sense of understanding.

As I sit in the airport ready to board my flight home, it is finally hitting me what I’ve just accomplished. Studying abroad through CIMBA was one of the greatest experiences of my life.