Hi everyone! Thanks for reading my blog! I'm really excited to be able to share all of my experiences with you! I hope to be posting here a lot so that you can hear about everything I'm doing, but from everyone I know who has tried to keep a blog, the updates seem to become less frequent as time goes on and life gets busier. But I'll start now with a promise to post here as much as I can.
Here's a little introduction for those of you who may be reading this but may not know much about my upcoming semester...
I'm studying abroad in Rome this spring and I can't wait! It was a really hard decision, as I am incredibly happy at school and I wasn't sure if I wanted to give up a full semester there. After all, you only get the college experience once, right? But I also realized, you only get an opportunity like this once in your life. Could I technically pick up and move to a foreign country one day? Sure, but I know I won't once I graduate. I'm at a time in my life where I can do this, how could I turn down an opportunity like that? Since deciding to apply I have felt nothing but incredible excitement! I am looking forward to a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn and live in Italy. I can't believe that I am lucky enough to be able to study abroad, let alone do it in Italy, the number one place in the world that I wanted to travel to. Not only do I get to travel there but I get to live there for four months- someone pinch me.
Of course, there are some things that I'm a little nervous about. For starters, I speak no Italian. I can say a few basic things- "hello," "goodbye," "I am Julie," "sorry," "thank you," "I love you," "pasta," "pizza," and "wine" are about the limits of my knowledge. Since I will be living in a residential area of Rome, not the center of the city where they speak English, this could be somewhat of a problem. However, learning Italian is one of my goals in life, and I can't imagine a better way to start than by immersing myself in the language.
I'm also a little nervous to start the new experience in general. Remember how you felt at the start of first grade, being dropped off by your mom and turning to face the big new world of elementary school? You were armed and prepared with freshly-sharpened pencils and a lunch packed with love, but you didn't know anyone. Why leave the comforts of home where everything was safe? Why start new here? It's the same way when you go to college, only this time you're armed with a brand new laptop and a dining plan and you are leaving the comfort zone of high school. Well, I'm at that point again. I'm leaving a campus where I'm well-settled and very comfortable for a place where I truly know no one. I'll admit, this thought gave me first-grade butterflies all over again before I applied to go abroad. But since applying and deciding to go to Rome I have not felt very nervous about this anymore. You'll never grow if you don't have these new experiences. That's why our parents pushed us through the door into first grade as we hesitated. That's why they dropped us off at dorms freshman year and let us start our own journeys (shout out to Images- I almost typed Residence Hall there). So I'm ready to face this new experience with the attitude that it's time for a change. I'm ready to go someplace new, meet new people, and have new experiences, only this time I'm being dropped off at the international departures gate of the airport and I'm going armed with a student visa and an Italian-English translation book.
Along those lines, there are some comforts of home and school that I'll definitely miss: My family. My friends. My dog. My mom's home-cooking. My school. My favorite television shows. Football games and basketball games at school. My favorite restaurants. YogiBerry. Giving tours. Working at Scholars.
However, there are also a million things I'm looking forward to: Living in Rome. Eating Italian food. Learning Italian. Taking a course called "Writing About Food" while living in the food capital of the world. Taking pictures of everything. Traveling all over Italy. Traveling all over Europe. Living in an authentic Italian apartment (that should be a colorful experience). Gelato. Going to school 15 minutes from the heart of Rome. Meeting new people. Learning to adapt to a new culture. A very mild winter. Shopping. Three-day weekends, every weekend. Celebrating my 21st birthday in Italy.
There are so many more things that I am excited about but I'll spare you all the full list. Over the semester I'll keep posting here about cool things I experience through my day-to-day activities and through travel. Please post comments here or make sure to email, Skype, G-chat, Facebook chat, or keep up communication however you want. I can't wait to live in a new place and make connections to the city and people there but I also want to keep my ties to everyone back home. So keep in touch, tell me what's going on in your lives, and feel free to read about what's going on in mine. I'm excited to share this experience with you! A huge thank you to my parents, sister, friends, and family for their encouragement, love, and support- it truly means the world to me!
Arrivederci per ora,
Julie
Dear Julie,
ReplyDeleteWe are thrilled to help you along this opportunity of a life time. You take with you to Italy a wonderful sense of adventure, your gregarious nature, your joyful spirit, your passion for good food, and, of course, the unbounded love and support of your parents. We are looking forward to reading your blog, seeing your photos, and hearing your exciting stories. Of course we will miss you but we will talk often and we are always connected.
Love, Mom and Dad