What better time to write my last blog post than on a ten hour flight back to America? In a little over three months, I have made a lifetime’s worth of memories and friends. I’ve been to Prague, Florence, Venice, Brussels, London, and Paris and have been able to call Rome my home. Studying abroad has taught me so much about myself, about people, and about the world we all share. I would tell anyone studying abroad in Rome or anywhere else in the world to do the following things to truly make their semester worthwhile:
Be open. Somebody told me to say “yes” to everything before I left in August. Don’t sleep in if you have the opportunity to see the Trevi Fountain at sunset or go to Ostia Antica with your art history professor. Try a different dish at every restaurant in every country. Don’t let a bank account that might have a $0 balance by December 9 prevent you from going to Paris over Thanksgiving break. Pay attention in Italian class and practice outside of the classroom whenever possible. What’s the point of living abroad if you’re just transferring your American inclinations to a foreign setting? I may not remember the names of the surviving structures in the Roman Forum or how to combine prepositions and articles in Italian, but studying abroad has definitely taught me how to go with the flow.
Be patient. So what if a grocery store closes before 9 pm or a shop shuts down for a couple of hours every afternoon? You always end up with what you need anyway. There’s no point in stressing out because the metro is crowded or the Roman bus system is unreliable. If your WiFi isn’t working, accept that you can’t update your Facebook status and take a walk instead. Substitute your Reese’s peanut butter cup addiction with a Baci one. Customs and habits are definitely different abroad, but that doesn’t make them wrong. Life becomes so much easier when you learn to take things in stride.
Be grateful. Studying abroad is a life-changing opportunity that not every college student has the chance to partake in and it’s over in a matter of months. Everybody moves back home and life goes on, but studying abroad is very temporary. I’m still not grasping the fact that I’m on my flight home right now. The semester becomes a blur so there’s no use in getting caught up in your schoolwork or the fact that you miss your family and friends back home. Take a moment to look around and remember that you’re in Rome. There are plenty of people who would love to switch places with you so be grateful and take full advantage of the awesome opportunity you’ve been given.
I know a lot of people who count studying abroad as the most memorable or rewarding part of college and now I understand why. Rome has been my home for the past three months and the Eternal City will always have my heart. If you get the chance to study at Temple Rome, take it. Studying abroad is a beautiful, challenging, remarkable experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Let’s just say that I threw enough coins in the Trevi Fountain to ensure that I will be back in this magical city again someday. “Non basta una vita.” A lifetime truly isn’t enough.
Thank you very much for reading! I hope my posts have been helpful. If you have any questions about Temple Rome or Rome or studying abroad in general, please feel free to email me at danielle.guiteras@temple.edu.
