I COULD BE ALONE YA, I CAN WATCH A SUNSET ON MY OWN

On the 9th day left abroading, Europe gave to me...

#17- GELATO
#16- ABROAD SONGS
#15- PERSISTENT HAWKERS
#14- ITALIAN WEATHER
#13- ABROAD CONSTANTS
#12- #STUDYABROADPROBLEMS
#11- OLD STOVE PORCELLINO
#10- 3,991 MILES


#9- PARIS, FRANCE


Paris was my first trip around Europe outside of Italy. It came at the perfect time for then when I needed a break from Italy's harsh culture shock the 3rd week abroad. I have always loved France, I took French for 3 years in high school (would have continued it in college but I didnt take it senior year so I didn't think I could do the intermediate I was placed in...then I found out intermediate was a joke at Stonehill and still kicking myself for wasting a year in elementary spanish..useless). So I have always loved France from afar with no real reason to, it's not like I'm French, but still definitely a favorite country. I love the culture, so to visit Paris was a major life goal completed. To stand under the Eiffel Tower and just take it all in, had a big impact on me. I didn't feel like myself abroad AT ALL until I arrived in Paris. I instantly felt like myself again, and I did not have one problem or complaint about Paris (aside from the self cleaning toilets... those do not work).


I genuinely regret not studying abroad in Paris. I always knew I wanted to visit it when I decided on studying abroad in Europe, but I regret not looking more into the possibility of me living there for a semester. I know if I worked on my French I could live there for at least 2 years, easily. I thought it would be just a place to visit, but I could seriously see myself having a life there. Now if only I learned French when I was 5 and my brain didn't stop developing so that I could pick up the language so easily.


That being said, I do however think Florence was extremely good for me because it gave me a lot of constructive life experience. Coming to a place I had practically no expectations for and dealing with it roughly made me a stronger person. I don't know if I could have got the classes I have in Florence in Paris. I got to see SO much of Italy because of my program, who knows if I would have been able to casually romp around France. I definitely wouldn't have had my amazing program advisors Chiara and Martina. I guess it will always be a what if type of scenario in my life whether or not how my life would be different if I went to France. Would I have grown as much as a person? I'll never know, but I guess the grass will always seem greener on the other side.


Irregardless  Regardless, Paris is definitely giving Australia a run for its money for where I want to honeymoon later in life. 


And oh my god the baked goods.... those alone made that trip worthy

QUICK JESSICA MARDO IS HILARIOUS UPDATE

1/2 of the ginger experience brings her humor yet again while talking about my worries of being at the mercy of peter wiernicki for housing when coming back from abroad.

"well i would say that people who go abroad for the most part

have their shit together

and probably live with someone fairly normal haha

so hopefully that means you won't get some gorilla"

I rest my case.

DO YOU COME FROM A LAND DOWN UNDER, WHERE WOMEN GLOW AND MEN PLUNDER

On the 10th day left abroading, Europe gave to me...

#17- GELATO
#16- ABROAD SONGS
#15- PERSISTENT HAWKERS
#14- ITALIAN WEATHER
#13- ABROAD CONSTANTS
#12- #STUDYABROADPROBLEMS
#11- OLD STOVE PORCELLINO


#10- 3,991 MILES


That is the approximate distance between Firenze, Italia and Easton, MA. Now why would a distance of space impact my abroad experience? It's because I'm so far from a comfort zone. Well, duh obviously. I needed the space. I needed to get back to and figure out more of me. That's pretty much the whole point of studying abroad aside from getting classes you can't get back home, living in a foreign city to experience culture, and to travel casually at the perfect time in you life to do so.


Aside from the obvious, the distance did me right for so many reasons. I feel like college is a great life springboard to finally be whoever the frig you want to be, you can start fresh and be friends with who you want to be without reservations.. and being abroad is only a even more speedier version. It helps you realize who is really there for you, who will put in the effort to keep in touch or visit you or even spend a month and a half lying to you to only surprise you (Hal & Julie still thankful for that weekend). Whether it be replying to a fb message or randomly skyping you to randomly chatting you up on the book, it matters when you are gone for almost 4 months in somewhere you have never experienced. The 3,991 miles should not get in the way of keeping in touch with the people you care about and the people who care about you. 


To quote Meredith Grey..
"At some point, you have to make a decision. Boundaries don't keep other people out. They fence you in. Life is messy. That's how we're made. So, you can waste your lives drawing lines or you can live your life crossing them."


The distance has only made friendships more obvious and stronger if nothing else. My group of Sem friends have still remained close despite our inability to communicate well with each other (and that will always continue). It has been particularly hard without being with Molly for what will be almost 5 months, but knowing how much her experiences in South Africa have impacted her I couldn't care less about the length of time with our distance, i'm proud of her grown and so glad to have her as one of my best friends. 


The Peer Mentor group has had such a profound effect on me as a person for being able to get to know 60ish very different amazing people in their own right has enabled me to be a stronger person. This group of people is so perfectly ridiculous. We're all obsessed with each other in ways I know irk non PMs, but I personally couldn't care less because that group of people means the world to me sometimes. When I was absolutely hating Italy, some of them were the ones that were there for me without question. The majority of that group are just beyond all around good people. They care and always tried to stay in touch with me, some of whom I wasn't even really close friends with til before I left.


I think the main point to sparknote this all is that, I know who my real friends are and who I want to put the effort into seeing and talking to when I get back to America.

AS FOR ME I'D LIKE TO THANK MY LUCKY STARS THAT I'M ALIVE AND WELL.

damn Orientation for giving me the capacity to have these emotions now. I can't even imagine how it is at Stonehill right now.

HEY YOU ALWAYS ON THE RUN, GOTTA SLOW IT DOWN BABY GOTTA HAVE SOME FUN

On the 11th day left abroading, Europe gave to me...?


#17- GELATO
#16- ABROAD SONGS
#15- PERSISTENT HAWKERS
#14- ITALIAN WEATHER
#13- ABROAD CONSTANTS
#12- #STUDYABROADPROBLEMS


#11- OLD STOVE PORCELLINO

Pretty much any of our absolutely killer fun nights at one point involved us chilling pre full blown night adventures at the Old Stove Porcellino. The Old Stove is 3 Irish pubs in Firenze, one right by the Duomo, one in Piazza Signoria, and our usual hotspot the Old Stove Porcellino near the wild boar statue hence the name. Jade happened to be the one to find the under the radar hangout bar that barely any study abroad students frequent or even visit. Students tend to always go to Naima or the Lion's Fountain (I like both places though) but Old Stove is where it is at because barely anyone goes there, and because Antonio the ridiculous bartender works there who loves us and gives us discounted drinks and is hilarious. Not the best with English but that doesn't stop Antonio from making it great. We for the most part avoid the other bartenders because they charge us full price, but recently we think Antonio got in trouble because he's been stiffing us a little. Regardless, becoming regulars successfully at a place was beneficially and we love that place. Not to mention got the nickname "sexymotherfucker" by Antonio thanks to ordering that drink. ASIDE: ordered a long island iced tea at Naima last week and that bartender tried to call me long iced.... that was just weird and not a good drink nickname, learn from Old Stove clearly. Now if only the Old Stove shirts were plain and boring I would totally be rocking one back in America all the time.

CLOSING TIME, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO HOME BUT YOU CAN'T STAY HERE

On the 12th day left abroading, Europe gave to me...?


#17- GELATO
#16- ABROAD SONGS
#15- PERSISTENT HAWKERS
#14- ITALIAN WEATHER
#13- ABROAD CONSTANTS


#12- #STUDYABROADPROBLEMS


If you are among this generation you cannot avoid the hashtag. I hated the fad hoping it would die out when random people started using it in their statuses on the book. Facebook is not twitter, cut the shit. But inevitably the fad turned into a trend and people actually started using twitter enough for it to become a legitimate marketing ploy to make money only spiraling it to appear on facebook and in average daily talk more and more frequently.


So what's an abroad student to talk about while abroad aside from how unrealistic and amazing it is? Complain about things that they only have to deal with because they are abroad. Hence the culmination of #studyabroadproblems. Everything can relate to its use. Anything that involves Ryan Air = #studyabroadproblems. Having to choose which European city to casually visit for a weekend = #studyabroadproblems. Loosing all motivation to do work while abroad = #studyabroadproblems. Complaining about it raining and being cold at 65 in December = #studyabroadproblems. The lists can go on and on, pretty much there are a lot of unreal life problems that happen while studying abroad. They are usual not a real problem whatsoever but it's a way to cope with the ridiculousness that is abroad sometimes.


#studyabroadproblems is a good way to keep things in check with life abroad and life back home. I am aware of the fact practically nothing about abroad life is the real world, but despite that it makes you grow so exponentially in a fast manner that life back home is on pause and I know when I come back it will feel as if nothing has changed, but me.

ROMA

This past weekend was my last excursion, last trip with GSE, last time casually traveling to another city in Europe. I was happy it was Rome that was my last European city (aside from 2 weeks left in Firenze) because it was the one city in Italy I wanted to visit more than any other. People were dying to go to Cinque Terre or Venice or the Wine Tasting day in Chianti, but I wanted to go to Roma. After visiting it, it definitely did not disappoint. Hands down, I could have studied abroad in Rome. Easily. It was similar to Paris being very open (nature included far more) and despite the lies my sister and mother spewed about them hating Rome and how dirty it was, I thought it was clean and super refreshing. The mix of modern next to ruins was perfect, I loved it. If I studied there instead, I know I would have a different perspective on Italy without a doubt. Florence is pretty much repulsively dirty compared to Rome, but I've grown used to it until I visited Rome and instantly thought wait why didn't I look into Rome more??

After a speedy train ride (that definitely couldn't have been cheap seeing as Firenze SMN is a bitch too expensive and we got there in an hour and a half as opposed to 6) we arrive and stop at our 4 star hotel... yeah GRAZIE GSE I'll take a free night in a 4 star hotel in Rome.

I was dreading the walking tours in Rome as they were the last and I've lost all patience for them as is, but thankfully our tour guide was really good. Comical, informative without blurting on and on, just enough. After a nice walk through some security I am in the 8th country I've ever visited, the Vatican City. 

Vatican walls

Vatican Museo grounds, giant bronze ball that I have no clue what it represents

Our guide talking about the Sistine Chapel, no photos are allowed of it but DAMN it was so much bigger and not as high up as I expected.

Going thru the museum passing through the Room of Maps. A giant hallway dedicated to maps of Italian cities and regions

Heyyyy St Peter's Basilica

Pope John Paul II's grave

No one seemed to get my Angels & Demons reference here

Brunelleschi makes things other than the Duomo dome

the famous square in the Vatican

Lengel says, "guys I checked the weather for Rome not the Vatican" as it starts to downpour on us

THE TREVI FOUNTAIN! So beautiful in real life

Typical Trevi fountain wish throwing

At at a BOMB gelato place right by the fountain, it was apparently in Eat Pray Love. Damn good gelato, Horrid movie.

The Spanish Steps (which are not near the Trevi Fountain like I visioned in my mind)

Don't really know what is going on here, but yet another successful and fun free dinner night with the program. After which I we had plans to go to the ice bar, but with it raining we thought it best to not, so I met up with Tara's friend Sean who is studying in Rome. Then hailed down a taxi after because I was not about to get lost again in Rome, it was worth paying for.

Ciao Colosseum

Jumper movie reference? Anyone...?

But is taking rocks from the ruins forbidden....

Katie and I pretending to be warriors in the Colosseum, you can only smile in front of national monuments for so long.

Ancient ruins? Check

THE PANTHEON (which I was most excited to see, I dont know why but I was)

Oculus? check

The "Wedding Cake" that was built a hundred years ago and Romans apparently hate because it doesnt fit with the rest of the city, but I thought it was grand.

Finally added another outfit to the abroad photos, found an Italia shirt without it reeking tourist.

Rome was amazing I loved it. It was a perfect last trip.