Kate Kelly
Lorenzo de Medici, Florence, Italy
As a fifth grader I attended my first college fair at my elementary school in Northern Virginia and I didn’t know what to expect.
Growing up, I associated higher education with tailgates and the Greek letters carved into a wooden board that were displayed in my father’s home office.
But it was at my fifth grade college fair that I found out I could come away from college with so much more than the typical experience.
Kate Kelly / Contributed Photo
I stumbled upon a booth that displayed pictures of far away places and people, and was told that this was because the school had a study abroad program.
I left the college fair with more pamphlets about abroad programs than the actual schools themselves.
From the time I was ten to the time I was 18, every college I considered always provided an abroad program.
When I became a sophomore at Keene State College I began to consider my options for studying away, and the Global Education Office helped me through the process.
I contemplated a few different options before settling on Florence, Italy.
I chose Florence for the obvious reasons: the food, the fashion, the art and so much more.
It is also a central location in terms of traveling throughout Europe, which I had planned on doing as much as possible.
I arrived in Italy expecting to immediately feel at home.
I had spent so many years waiting for this opportunity to arrive; I thought my enthusiasm would deter any culture shock.
I was wrong.
The streets were chaotic, people were shouting at each other and at me.
My taxi driver drove as if he was racing against time and every single other driver on the road.
I quickly realized I had not prepared myself for the very prevalent language barrier.
As realities set in I began to wonder if I was going to be able to adjust.
As I spent more and more time in the city, I realized it wasn’t the high-end fashion or the world famous gelato that was going to make me feel at home here; it was the little things.
The couple that owns the café on the corner of my street who refuse to let me leave without a free pastry. The family who runs the meat counter at the Central Market who smile and wait patiently for my order as I read through a recipe on Pintrest. My Political Science professor who took 20 minutes out of class to talk to us about Italian opera — not because it was relevant to his lecture, but because he wants us to experience this culture as thoroughly as we can. These are the things that make me feel at home in this foreign country.
My favorite part of living in Italy is the way of life.
Instead of rushing past people on my way to class, as I used to down Appian Way, I’ve learned to take my time.
Walking slow used to make me anxious because in the congested streets of Florence you often don’t have a choice, but the Italian way of life isn’t to rush, piling task after task onto a to-do list, but to take their time, to enjoy each day.
They work to live, instead of living to work.
So far, I have traveled to Switzerland, Greece, the Netherlands and Ireland.
I also have plans to go to Spain and Germany before I go back to the States. As incredible and extraordinary as these places have been, I always feel so fortunate when I come home to Florence.
Not only have I made incredible friends here, eaten world-renowned food and walked to class every day past incredible architecture, but I now understand a new way of looking at the world.
I have seen and experienced things I would have never even known existed if it weren’t for this opportunity. It is so encouraging to know I will take this experience with me wherever I go and that I am able to call Florence, Italy home.
