Aisha DiGregorio
Study Abroad
If you ask anybody who has studied abroad, they will probably tell you that it is a life-changing experience and one of the most rewarding things he or she has ever done. Well, I can assure you this is true.
After I stuffed my suitcase, or multiple suitcases, to the brim, hugged my friends and family goodbye and boarded my flight, I was off to a once in a life-time experience. Although there were a few hiccups getting myself here, I made it. We had to fly from Boston to Paris, and once arriving in Paris our connecting flight was already boarding. After lots of running, we finally arrived to our connecting flight. Little did we know our luggage did not.
From Paris our flight was scheduled to land right in Florence, but because of the wind we were forced to land in Bologna, Italy — an hour and a half away from Florence.
As we waited patiently for our luggage to come off the plane, we realized that our luggage was not with us because of the transfer. Once finally arriving to Florence from Bologna, not knowing if we would have to wait days for all of my belongings, we were surprised to realize our bags got put onto another flight and made it safely to Florence. Finally feeling whole again, my roommate and I were off to our new home for the next three-and-a-half months.
Contributed Photo
I’ve been studying at Lorenzo de Medici in Florence now for two months. I have been mesmerized by the city of Florence since the second I arrived here. With the beautiful architecture and art filled streets, there is always something new to look at everyday. I’ve indulged myself in the culture as much as possible. I try traditional dishes and eat gelato almost every day. Also — pizza. Oh man, oh man is the pizza good. I’ve also had to substitute my peanut butter addiction with Nutella. I, however, was lucky enough to receive a care package from my mom with the biggest jar of peanut butter I’ve ever seen. Aside from food, I have really tried to see as much of Europe as I can. I’ve been to places in Italy like Pisa, Milan, Venice, Cinque Terre and San Gimignano. I am still hoping to visit Rome, though. Outside of Italy, I’ve been to Croatia, Paris, France, Germany for the epic Oktoberfest, and most recently I went to Greece for ten days visiting Corfu, Athens and Santorini. Next on my agenda is Budapest, Hungary and Switzerland and I’m currently planning my trip to London and Ireland with my best friend from home. Everyone is telling me to slow down and enjoy what is in front of me, but I know I will never get this opportunity again and I am so anxious to see everything.
This has truly been an eye-opening experience. I never thought having the privilege of communicating with my friends and family at home would be something I struggled with the most. I am also struggling with not being able to call my dad whenever I want. Culture shock is a real thing. The language barrier is tough and I had to adapt to it.
Throughout this experience I have learned a lot about myself and what I am capable of. I’m living half-way across the world, thousands and thousand of miles away from what I have been use to for the past 22 years. I’ve traveled country-to-country since being in Italy, gaining as much as I can from each place. This experience has left me to be even more grateful for the people I have in my life and thankful for the ones that have pushed me to be here. Like one of my good friends that I met on this trip says, “You’re too blessed to be stressed,” and I swear I am going to continue living that way every second I am here.