1. Milan. From the duomo to shopping, from arco to bocconi, from Christians to Luninis, from Kings to La Fontenella, and Old Fashion to le Banque. Milan met and exceeded any kind of expectation I had coming into abroad.
2.The culture. I came knowing no one and most of my friends that went abroad knew someone or were mostly surrounded by American students. As scary as it was at first, I loved being surrounded by students from all over the world like Australia, Ireland, Iceland, Russia, the Netherlands etc. I was able to experience new cultures and interact with people who were quite different from me. They taught me their ways and I taught them all about the Minnesota state fair. I also am leaving with some solid Australian lingo!
3. The independence. Our program had us do most things by ourselves. We had a lot of things to navigate and decipher with no outside help. At first, it made me think how dependent I am on either my parents, friends, or even my school back in Madison. These past few months have made me realize how I can figure things out on my own. I was able to get a whole new passport within 24 hours of being in Milan, travel to Paris by myself, and maneuver public transportation - just to name a few.
4. The experiences. There are so many things you go through while abroad that only someone who has been through them also can understand. Some of these things include permit of stay, running from the ATM people, the slowness and laziness of Italians, knowing that from 2-4 pm nothing is open, the language barrier, public transportation, everything takes about 20 steps to get accomplished, dealing with an Italian University like Bocconi etc. As much as these things were an annoyance and hindrance at times, I cannot imagine my abroad experience without them. They made me feel apart of the Italian culture and made my abroad experience more surreal.
5. The food and drinks. pasta, tortellini, pizza, calzone, chicken, panzerotti, duck, trout, sea bass, bread, olive oil, Euro shoppers, 1 Euro wine bottles, pesto, rissoto, a pepper a day keeps the doctor away, etc. This list could go on forever. One of the best and worst things about Italy is the food. I know everyone says this but until you try it you will never understand. As sick as I got of all the pasta and pizza IT WAS AMAZING! I never had a bad meal and of course never a bad drink
6. The Trips. I got to travel all around Europe and explore all the different kinds of cultures this continent has to offer me. Budapest with its night life, Torino with the gorgeous Alps for skiing, Venice with the canals and tiny roads, paris with its beauty and love, Italy with its food and sights, London with its sophistication, prauge with its beer, Netherlands with its quaint feel, Belgium with its waffles and birthday memories.
7. Arcobalano. As much as I complained about my dorm, I loved everything about it. Being able to be 10 feet from my friends if I need them, making dinner with 6 people each night, throwing food off the balcony, waiting for the air conditioning to finally start working, my kitchen that always smelt, the front desk people who hated us, and of course being right by the Lunga - Arco will forever hold too many memories to count.
8. Acro pre games and Milan night life. Beer Olympics, getting yelled at by the front desk, having things thrown at us by the Italian teenagers, teaching each other various drinking games from our home countries, Brian, 7 Euro wine jugs, 40 cent Euro shoppers, tram rides to the clubs, fighting off the creepy Italians, stealing drink tickets at Old Fashion, cab rides, walking all the way home, food truck, etc. These were the nights that all of us exchange students would come together and grow our friendships - nights that we will never forget.
9. The people. The people and friends I have met and made here will forever and always be the best part of my abroad trip. Its not even leaving Italy that is making leaving so hard, its leaving everyone here. They have been there for me through the best times, my stolen passport, realizing how poor I am, calling me out for being too loud, when I did horrible on a test etc. The friendships you make while abroad can last forever because of all the experiences you had and went through together. The people I have gotten to know over the past 5 months are some of the best people I have met in my life and they have inspired me every day to explore and see what this world has to offer me. They made me realize that yes I should be focused on getting a job but should also make sure I enjoy life and make the most out of every situation. I love you all so much and could not imagine my time here without you. I am so thankful to you for not only making this experience everything and more but being there with me throughout the past 5 months.
10. My parents. They have helped me through so much and done so much for me. I would not have been able to come here or do what I did here without their help. I put this thing together throughout my time abroad for them and my grandparents (who also helped me out a lot). I love you all so much and thank you for everything. Thank you for listening. Thank you for encouraging. Thank you for knowing what to say and do in any situation. Thank you for helping. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for putting up with my loudness, craziness, and weirdness. Thank you for everything you have ever done. I love you so much! Thank you all for giving me the world!!
140 days
8 Countries
20 cities
10 seasons of friends
9 Old Fashion Nights
1811 Esselunga Points
and too many memories too count
Arrivederci Milano! My loud and wanna be Italian butt will be back soon.
- bribomb24
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| Paris France |
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| Venice Italy |
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| Prauge Czech republic |
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| Rome Italy |
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| Amsterdam Netherlands |
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| Sardinia Italy |
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| Florence Italy |
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| Budapest Hungary |
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| Positano Italy |
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| 4 Privet Drive London England |
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| Lugano Switzerland |
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| Milano Italy |
