The Lead Up To A New Kind of Adventure
Like most study abroad students at Arcadia, my journey started with Preview this past spring. I was put into one of London classes and could not be more excited to explore a brand new city a whole ocean away. I fell in love with finding new places that no one else knew about in my circle back home. That trip gave me a new sense of adventure. Once I got home I knew I needed to reach out to Civic & Global Engagement to find out where else I could go abroad during my time at Arcadia.
I already had a very strong stand on where I wanted to go next. I remember that ever since I was little I wanted to go to Italy. Luckily enough, there was a program in Perugia for sophomores. Honestly I had no idea what or where Perugia was. Turns out it is right in the middle of Rome and Florence in the region of Umbria. I was just very happy that there was a way for me to go to Italy the following year. Once I officially decided that I was studying abroad, the process really started to pick up pace. I was choosing what program I wanted to be in, which classes I would need for that program, booking my flight, and also doing all of the paperwork for my visa. Looking back on it, the whole process was a blur. It all got done pretty efficiently. Now all I had to do was wait for my flight to Rome.
All summer I was full of jitters. My family was so supportive and excited as well. I would always get new information from them since they would be doing research for me about Perugia. I honestly wanted to be surprised when I got there so I didn’t bother to start my research on what to do until I got to Perugia. The two pieces of information that I remember was mentioned to me was that Perugia is the capital of chocolate in Italy and that I had to experience an aperitivo while in Italy. Once the day came for me to leave, my family gave me a bunch of hugs and kisses and sent me off to my next adventure.
Welcome Week really helped me integrate into life here in Perugia. It is a very small city with a lot of great Italian culture. There are markets everywhere you look. The only inconvenience about the place is you have to hike up steep hills if you want to go anywhere but eventually you get used to it. The entire first week was Italian lessons. My professor introduced the very basics of Italian just so we were comfortable with how to say or ask for the time and how to order food at a cafe. Throughout that week they also took us to the local grocery stores and showed us how to use the mini metro. Eventually I got used to how to get around and find new places to go to. I will admit that my Italian is nowhere near perfect but simple phrases have been very helpful for getting around. I’ve been able to get around by saying phrases like good morning and excuse in Italian. I’ve also been able to order food at a restaurant and talk my way around the grocery store. The locals also appreciate when people try to speak in their native tongue. They even offer some advice on how to say certain phrases, which is very helpful.
Overall my experience abroad so far has been quite an adventure. The only thing that has been a hard pill to swallow is that I lost my Bubby the second day I was in Italy. She was my role model growing up and she even gave me my initial love of traveling. Leading up to my flight she would tell me how proud she was of me and she told me to continue her love of exploring the world, and I plan on doing just that. The first day I was in the city center of Perugia I even felt her holding my hand. I know that she is looking over me on this incredible journey and I cannot wait to share more about this experience with you all.
