38 Days Later..

38 days later and I’m officially home. No, not all 38 days were spent in Italy, but they were spent traveling the world and making new memories. There were many homesick days and times when I became frustrated with not being able to communicate with people but at the same time I loved that I was dealing with that struggle. I had the most amazing trip and the time of my life!

 

I thought I would share a few highlights and lessons learned from my trip.

Highlights

#1 – ROME. This was always the top of my list of places I wanted to visit and it didn’t disappoint. I will never be able to describe the feeling of standing in the Coliseum or walking into the Sistine Chapel or St. Peter’s Basilica. I’m still in awe of those buildings and skill it took to create them.

#2 – CHANIA. I thought I would like Crete but I had no idea how much I would walk away absolutely loving it. Chania was beautiful and peaceful (when on the lighthouse or at the beach) and full of nightlife for when we had the energy. There so much history in that little town and the weekend there was unforgettable.

#3 – “Hey guys, we’re in France.” The feeling of jumping on a plane and being in a different country in less than two hours and being able to be so casual about saying you’re there! So amazing.

Tips

– When people tell you to fit everything into a small suitcase that looks barely bigger than a back pack, don’t act like they’re crazy. DO IT. I distinctly remember in the CIMBA orientation when we were told a story about someone running up and down stairs trying to catch a train and being thankful they had a small suitcase that they could just grab and run with… when I heard that story my thought process was “I don’t need a small suitcase, I’m only bringing my carry on bag on the weekends.” …… Guess who had to haul their huge suitcase up and down train station stairs on the last weekend? This girl.

– Always have a lot of change. I can’t count the amount of times I had to borrow change from the girls I was with because my big bills wouldn’t be accepted. Seems like a weird concept coming from America but its necessary in Italy.

– Expect to pay more for water than you have in your entire life. I never thought I would spend almost $5 on a normal size bottle of water but I have now!

– Enjoy every single moment of the craziness you’re going through. It’s completely worth it in the end.

I’m so excited to be home and see family and friends, but there’s a big part of me that will miss that little campus in Paderno del Grappa and the crazy summer semester of living in Italy.

Arrivederci!

Evan