A Life Changing Trip

Before I wrote my last blog about my experience in Italy I wanted to have a waiting period. I wanted to live a few days back in the United States to see if what I experienced was life changing or just a really long trip.

After a few days of reflecting I decided it was both.

I was able to see countries I would only look at in photographs. I ate gelato in Italy and lamb in Turkey. I experienced the largest festival in the world when I attended Oktoberfest in Munich. I laid on a beach on a Greek Island in November when friends back home were bundled up in a snow storm. I saw what the Romans built and what a war could destroy while in Rome. I walked through a park composed of only waterfalls in Croatia. I would sip coffee and nibble on a pastry from the local cafe whenever there was a nice afternoon in Paderno. So yes, in many ways it was a trip.

But it also changed my life. I am able to communicate when neither parties know the language. I am able to navigate through a city I’ve never been to. I now am eager to try new foods rather than cast them away. I see beauty in different clothing and style. I know that getting lost isn’t a headache, but an opportunity to see something new. Most importantly, I changed my life by realizing there is much more than what I am used to.

Three months passed by too quickly, and I still get sad thinking that it is over.  Paderno became a home to me. A place to relax from the trip the weekend before, and a place to day dream of where the next weekend would take me. It was a place to share stories with friends who were experiencing the same moments I was.

CIMBA brought me great friends, education through an Italian perspective, and allowed me to see a tiny piece of the world. My time abroad has only inspired me to see more, and to keep allowing these experiences mold who I am.