Arrivederci Italia, hellooo America!

Well, I’m finally home! Landing in the middle of the Chicago-land suburbs last Monday could not have been anymore bittersweet. I’ve spent the past week reflecting on my time spent in Italy, and I can’t believe all the stuff I actually did! Before I go into that, let me tell you about my final weekend.

My friend Caroline and I decided to go to Milan for our last few days in Italy so we could see one more major city. We did a little shopping and spent one day in Lake Como, which was absolutely beautiful! Nothing too exciting happened, until… I got pick pocketed! I’m telling you, these people are so good it’s scary. I have no idea how they got in my satchel cross-body purse that was hanging in front of me. It blows my mind! So anyways, I was getting on the subway in Milan to go to the train station because I had to get back to Rome for my flight Monday morning. All of a sudden, these people started pushing into my subway car and I had nowhere to go because I had my big suitcase, so I tried my best to stay out of the way so people could fit. There was a girl standing in the doors of the subway holding them open when they were closing and I was so confused and didn’t understand why she wasn’t letting them close. Then the girl and a guy who was standing behind her jumped out and my wallet dropped to the ground! It all happened in a matter of 10 seconds, and I had absolutely no clue until I saw my wallet fall. Thankfully they only took my cash and dropped my wallet or I would have been in big trouble!!! I didn’t have much on me either since I was going to be leaving the next day. Either way, it was still scary and I felt so violated!!! It just goes to show all you future travelers you ALWAYS have to be aware of your surroundings and even if you think your stuff is safe, they probably know a way to get it and they will.

Needless to say, I wasn’t a huge fan of Milan! But, I did enjoy Lake Como. We took the train Saturday morning to Como and spent the day laying out in the sun and relaxing after a busy four weeks of classes!

I’ve been home almost a week now, and it was so weird to readjust to American life! Fast wifi, free public bathrooms, cold air conditioning, even being able to use my cell phone whenever I want! All things I definitely took for granted before studying abroad in Italy. Going into this program, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I didn’t know if I would come back a changed person with a new perspective of the world, or if I would just come back with some good pictures and stories and a cool vacation under my belt. I can honestly say, I think I’ve returned with both!

When I first considered this program, I almost didn’t do it because I’m on the golf team at Iowa and it’s a large portion of summer training time to miss! Now that the program is over, I am beyond happy I ended up doing it. I feel like I’ve become so much more confident in my abilities to communicate and interact with people, especially through a language barrier, and just being independent and on my own. I was thrown a few curve balls throughout my trip like my lost luggage, taking the wrong subways, and even getting pick pocketed that forced me to evaluate the situation and learn to adapt and adjust accordingly. Italy has such a different culture than America, and the people there have realized little things in life don’t matter. So what if you miss your train? There’s always going to be another one that will get you to the same place. So what if you get lost? All you have to do is keep asking for directions until you find your way.

I’m so proud of myself for making the decision to study abroad with CIMBA, and I can say with the utmost confidence that it has helped me become a far better person than I was before I left. I learned so much in my short four weeks in Italy, and it has only inspired me to continue exploring the world and experience as many new cultures as possible. So far I haven’t missed much besides waking up and seeing the beautiful mountains every morning, but I know with time I’ll think back to this experience and remember so many amazing memories I created with great new friends and want to do it all over again! But for now, I’ll just enjoy my big comfy bed and reality TV for a little bit longer 🙂

Arrivederci Italia! I will miss you!