Studying abroad is about seeking all the opportunities I can while I have already taken advantage of my first amazing opportunity: studying abroad. Almost every day that I’ve been here I have a conversation about how lucky we are to be a part of this program. And truly we are some of the luckiest college students in the world. How many people can say they have spent a whole semester traveling Europe? Think about it: with the JSB program we are not only exploring Italy 4 days of the week but exploring other countries 3 days a week. Take advantage of this! The chance of ever having the freedom to travel like we are is slim. I think the biggest thing I have learned during my time abroad is to be open to anything. I came with a very open mind – I had three places I knew I wanted to travel, but for the most part I was open to traveling wherever the wind blew. Some of the most important things that studying abroad has taught me so far are:
Not sleeping is not a problem
Yes, I am tired some days but I can sleep during the week. I’m the person in the group that wants to be leaving by 10am because we have such limited time in some of these places and I want to see as much as I can. Some days I am so tired on the bus back from a field trip, but I have to remind myself that this opportunity is once in a life time and that for me if I am a little sleep deprived for a semester it will be well worth it.
Spending money is inevitable 
We all come in with a budget and after the first 2 weeks I felt like I had spent half of it but that’s okay because by then I had almost all of my trips planned. The first week I felt like I was throwing money left and right between booking hotels, flights and train tickets but really I had so much done and I won’t have to spend that money twice. My biggest suggestion is to spend the money on the experiences not things because those memories are priceless.
Don’t let fear get in the way
If I were to say I’m not traveling to places where something could go wrong, I would never walk out of my house let alone be abroad. We cannot control everything but we can take precautions. I want to experience the world and I cannot let the fear of “if” stop me from doing that.
Be open/Try new things
Coming here I made it my goal to try new foods, explore new places and meet new people. I am used to living life in the U.S. in my little comfort zone but if there is a time to step out it is now. I went to Croatia, a place I had only heard about once or twice, and had one of the best weekends ever. Being open to all the opportunities we have here has really let me set out of my comfort zone and experience things I never knew I wanted to do.
Talk to everyone
Everyone here has to have something in common — other than all of us being crazy enough to sign up to live in Italy for a semester. The whole group is hilarious and so nice that I want to travel with a different group every weekend so I can get to know everyone.
Write it all down
This is the hardest part for me. Some nights I am so tired and I’ll be weeks behind but I know I want to remember these days for the rest of my life so writing down some of the best memories of the days is a great way to look back on my time abroad.
~Oliva Frazier

My favorite weekend by far exploring Paris, France