2nd July, 2017.
To think, just a few short months ago, I was fretting over turning in all my paperwork and applications on time for study abroad. I frantically attended the foundations meeting, made appointments with advisors, and applied for my first-ever passport – all in the span of roughly five days after receiving the first email notification that this particular program even existed. Afterwords, I existed in a haze of nervous excitement and perpetual anticipation. Then finally, not even two weeks after submitting my application in a sigh of relief, I opened up my email to find I have a notification for my application status. With bated breath, I logged onto the application portal, and clicked on “Application Decision.” It was then I read those coveted words: “We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted in to the Excavation of a Roman Villa in Artena, Italy summer program!” Of course, I immediately called my mother and we made plans to meet and figure everything out. From there, it was only a matter of preparation and playing the waiting game.
Waiting expectantly, I finally received my passport in the mail within a few weeks (along with my much-needed birth certificate) and finished my commitment application. The last few months have included trips to the doctor’s office for shots and long conversations about how to stay safe abroad, irrational worrying that maybe I’ll get sick and won’t be able to leave, and an excess amount of insomnia from anticipation. I’ll more than likely have to reassure my parents a million times while I’m gone and on the plane to Rome that I’ll make sure to stay safe while having fun, and I’ll do my best to learn a lot. Checklists have been made that I’ve had to fill out a dozen times “just to be sure,” and my dad has given me lecture upon lecture about staying alert and vigilant about those “rogue Italian men.”
Unfortunately, I’ve been spending long, grueling hours practicing my barely-proficient Italian skills, as well as looking up important phrases to know. Not only that, but I have thoroughly researched cultural practices to be aware of, and having a basic understanding of the health care system and judicial system probably wouldn’t hurt, either. It’s always important to know where the United States embassies are while travelling abroad – which is yet another thing my dad has instilled in me from his years of travelling experience.
While all three of us girls who are a part of the program – what a grand total, I know – have been preparing for the trip of a lifetime, our program supervisors are doing their best to make sure we have all the info we need to succeed! We’ll get to know one another, share the stress of making deadlines, living in a small house together, and keeping track of the ever-important archaeologist’s field journal. While we’re basking in the hot Italian summer sun, we’ll be discovering our goals in life, and enjoying our shared passions. Like the saying goes, “When in Rome…”; we won’t be in Rome, exactly, but 40 miles is close enough!
