If you were to ask someone who has never studied abroad before to picture studying abroad, I imagine that they would probably picture a group that goes to a few classes together but prioritizes going to places outside their base city. This is what I expected going into this semester, but I have found that it is more fulfilling to me to focus on what I’m learning in Ariccia. When signing up to study abroad, I knew I was signing up to learn new things. However, I expected the majority of the knowledge that I gained to be about academic subjects—which this program is definitely not lacking, but I expected to mostly be learning about the subjects being taught. However, I feel that I have learned more about myself so far this summer and also about culture and living simplistically.

I think I have learned more about myself in the past eight weeks than I have in both years that I have been in college so far. Putting yourself in such an unfamiliar, uncomfortable situation forces growth. I think that growth in myself can be seen in how well I know who I am as a person. I have never had an issue making friends before, but meeting twenty-one new girls at the same time made me somewhat self-conscious about my personality. When everyone was meeting each other at the beginning of the summer, it was hard to feel like people were getting to know me. I felt like I was being overshadowed by people with stronger personalities than me. This forced me to spend a lot of time reflecting about who I am as a person and what makes me, me. I began to rediscover the things that I love about myself. As the semester continued, the girls in the program continued to get to know me more and got to know the things about me that make me who I am.

I never really understood the term ‘culture’ before this summer. Growing up in the south of the United States, we always hear about how we have a different culture than in the northern United States. When I have traveled abroad in the past, I have obviously noticed differences in how foreigners do certain things, but I never understood the reason behind why they do things differently. Italians do things a certain way, different from the United States, because of their overall culture and way of life. For example, we noticed very early on in the summer that you have to ask your waiter for the bill when you are eating at a restaurant, when in the United States the waiter will normally bring it to you when you are done eating. This small difference in how Italians simply eat a meal is the effect of the slower lifestyle practiced in Italy. The fact that this difference is related to an overall difference in lifestyle is something that I would have never realized if I were just on a vacation to Italy. I have realized that sometimes you really have to understand something larger, such as the culture of where you are, to pinpoint why a place is the way it is.

One of the biggest differences that I have noticed between the United States and Italy is in consumerism. In the United States, we are so used to getting exactly what we want within twenty-four hours at the maximum. We consume so many products and discard them when we are tired of them. This has been a huge change for me because you really do not even have the opportunity to consume as much stuff here in Italy. We have access to everything that we need here, but sometimes you have to sacrifice the luxuries that you may have had in the United States. As a result of those sacrifices, I have discovered that I may not need all of those luxuries that I had in the United States. It is very peaceful to live simplistically here with a smaller wardrobe, a smaller room, and just way less stuff in general. I have become very good at using what I have and making it work.

The changes that I have experienced in the two months that I have been here make me feel like the whole experience is worth it. While traveling Europe is great, the self-growth that I have experienced is incredible. I will also never travel the same way I have in the past. Instead I will research the places that I travel before and try to experience some of the culture there when I visit. I will carry everything that I have learned this summer with me throughout the rest of my life.

Josie Buckalew