It’s funny how much I have learned about my own culture while living in another culture with 18 other people for 9 weeks.  Taking off the blinders of my own social norms and seeing the world through someone else’s eyes is so beneficial and fascinating to me.  It has made me consider why my values are what they are, why others have their specific beliefs, and has helped me make my mind up about who I want to be.
As our time in Italy is coming to an end, I can’t help but reflect on just how helpful these past 9 weeks have been in shaping who I am and who I aspire to be.  I honestly didn’t think it would in the beginning but living in a totally different part of the world with 18 strangers has taught me a lot about myself.  The various workshops in class were truly beneficial, but outside of the classroom with my Chigi family is where I grew the most. Moments such as realizing we have to literally tell the waiters to stop bringing appetizers or else they will continue bringing plates of food, the early morning train rides, or simply enjoying a cappuccino before class are moments that make this experience so memorable.
Being in Italy with so many unknowns, we as a class have to work out things together daily.  This gives us a chance to really see how we work in groups when solving a problem, but without having to do it for a homework assignment or lab project.  We get to  live out real world situations that require us to figure out who we are in a group dynamic. Living and traveling with 18 people might sound challenging, but it has helped me work with all kinds of different viewpoints and has left me with some pretty amazing people I can now call friends.
One take-away after living in another culture with people from various upbringings is to jump into something that might shake up what I thought in my mind to be true. When I put it all back together and add in the new experiences and knowledge I have gained, I have been shaped into a truer version of myself.  It might have felt a little unsettling or intimidating, but in the end I discovered things about myself that I didn’t know were there to begin with.
 
Ciao Ciao for now!
 
Blakely Heideman

Some of us on a weekend trip to Germany for Oktoberfest!