City Girl in a Small Town World

Ciao from Paderno del Grappa! My name is Ellen and I arrived in this cozy town about one week ago. Coming from the University of Minnesota, I have grown accustomed to attending school close to a large city. The moment I stepped off the train from Venice, I knew this semester was going to be completely different. I saw mountains instead of skyscrapers, small shops instead of huge department stores, and winding roads instead of blocks packed with public transit. The snow, however, was familiar. When I applied a year ago I wanted something completely different, and on day one I knew my wish came true.

 

I felt a bit like a fish out of water when I arrived, paired with some flashbacks freshman year as I moved into my single dorm. I was not jet lagged because I had arrived in Europe two weeks prior for pre-travel, and I think that helped my adjustment period partially, but of course I was still a little uneasy.

Any hesitation and nervousness I had was quickly escalated during my team’s LIFE training on day four, but the experience turned into the best ice breaking experience I could have asked for and I highly recommend it.

As this second week begins, Travel Week one excitement has crept into my mind. A group friends and I have booked our transportation from Venice (for Carnivale) to Paris, then to Amsterdam, Berlin and back to Venice all for that break. Booking was a challenge as prices and availability changed frequently and ten people tried to make all the same decision at once. Tonight we are hoping to find our hostels and then move on to planning our days with as much sight seeing as possible!

This week’s agenda includes a trip to a pizzaria down the road, the DaVinci Challenge ropes course, tips for travel survival from some local Italians, and trekking to Bassano and Venice. Hopefully I can fit it all in!

Ciao,

Ellen