Dear Future Study Abroaders...

Dear future study abroaders,

WARNING: the trip you are about to go on will be life-changing.

First things first, when it comes to packing or trying to figure out what you’ll experience, everyone is going to tell you something different. I remember trying to talk to as many people as I could that had previously studied abroad and every one of them had some sort of insight as to what it would be like and what I should do to prepare. The first thing I’m going to tell you about coming abroad is that no one truly knows what it is going to be like. No one person can tell you every single thing that you’ll need, what your going to experience, or what you’ll miss. All I hope to do is inform you on some of the things I wished I had known or thought about before I left.

Don’t take everything you hear too seriously. I made that mistake once or twice. I panicked about sleeping in dirty hostels with sketchy people lurking and waiting for me to leave so they could steal all my stuff. I stressed about bringing too many of this or too little of that. Take the things your loved ones (and random advice you find on the internet) tell you, to heart, but don’t think that it’s all 100% true. It may be true for them, or for me, but not necessarily you. This semester will be about making mistakes and finding yourself in less than ideal situations. You'll find yourself having to rely on your intuition and gut feelings more than ever.

Keep an open mind. This is probably the most valuable piece of advice I can offer. In order to fully experience all that a country can offer, you must step outside of your comfort zone, let go of expectations, and try things that may seem weird or foreign to you.

Pack medicine! You will not find things like Advil and Nyquil and you ­will need it at one point or another. Trust me, when that cold or headache hits, you’ll be very happy you packed it!

Expect an emotional roller coast ride. There’s something about studying abroad that really intensifies your feelings and experiences. Between different time zones, missed flights, language barriers, money conversions, outlet conversions, pickpocketers, no wifi, jet lag, and a long time away from family and friends, studying abroad can get pretty stressful, but you will be OK! Consider every obstacle a challenge and face it head on with grace and confidence.

Enjoy your home base. Within the first week of classes, many were already off exploring Europe. Myself included. But try to make time to get to know your new home and explore your neighborhood. 

Call your family and friends. Or Skype, e-mail, facebook, blog, snail mail….anything to keep them up to date on what's going on in your new and exciting life. Do this sparingly though, if you are in touch with loved ones back home 24/7, it will be harder to fully immerse yourself in your present situation and may leave you feeling homesick or even wishing you could be back doing what your friends and family are doing.

Take in all you can from the people you meet along the way. Studying abroad exposes you to new places, foods, languages and most importantly, people. Whether it's the German/Polish photographer you meet at a bistro in Paris or a Brazilian hostel-mate in Ireland, everyone travels for different reasons, and everyone has something to share and something to teach, including you.

Travel!  Oh, I cannot stress this enough! Traveling around Europe is cheap and easy. Yes, I may have had to wake up at 4 am to catch an 8 am flight on occasion, but I wouldn’t take it back for anything. I was worried about how I was going to pay for my travels but if you do your research, you can spend a weekend in any city you want for a reasonable price. Book your flights early; find a decent hostel and go! That’s all there is to it. Explore that place you’ve always wanted to see – or pick some place completely random. Some of my favorite trips were the ones that were never on my radar before going abroad. So don’t worry about not knowing exactly how to get where you’re going because getting there is half the fun. Europe has a surplus of different things to offer, and I promise you, there will never be a dull moment.

Realize that you won’t ever be the same. By choosing to study abroad, you are inherently agreeing to step miles and miles outside your comfort zone in order to find something you feel is missing. Studying abroad is a personal journey both literally and figuratively that affects everyone differently at different times. When I returned to the States, it took a couple weeks for me to figure out how to fit my newly invigorated, adventurous and well-traveled self back into the life I left behind. Reverse culture shock is real, but keeping in touch with the people I traveled with and talking about my experiences with others definitely helps keep it alive.

I could sit here and go on and on about the do’s and don’ts of studying abroad but for me, learning all of those things turned out to be some of the best life lessons I’ve ever experienced. The bottom line is – your semester/year/summer/week abroad is going to be the most spectacular time of your life; that I can say with complete confidence for every single person. You will learn more than you could have ever imagined about yourself and the world. I truly don’t believe anyone could ever regret studying abroad. So if you’re going to take one thing from this post, I hope it's this; don’t spend too much time worrying because half of the things that you experience while abroad, good and bad, you’d never expect or be able to anticipate. So just make the best of every crazy situation and never regret a second of your time abroad because one day you’ll blink and you’ll only have a few weeks left.

P.S. If have any questions related to Study Abroad, any at all, please do not hesitate to message me via Facebook or shoot me an e-mail. I am more than happy to share advice, packing tips, recommendations on where to go , insight from experiences or really any thing related to travel!

Comfort Zones

In one of my fashion photography classes, our assignment was a little different than normal. We were told to step out from behind the camera and play the role of the model for a day and photograph each other versus a professional model. I was a tad apprehensive about this at first. I have always preferred being behind the camera and tense up when it’s my turn be photographed. That being said, if there is one thing I can take away from my experience studying abroad, it’s that sometimes we need to get out of our comfort zone, even if it means being uncomfortable.

 

  One of the greatest things about study abroad is that it forces you to step out of your comfort zone. Whether that means cooking for the first time, climbing what seems like an insurmountable mountain, or learning the ins and outs of a completely unfamiliar city, study abroad really tests your patience and your persistence.

 I thought I had it all figured out. My mental checklist was complete, my tour guidebooks were packed, and I had exhausted myself with endless Google and Pinterest searches on what this whole study abroad experience was all about.

I have to say that all of these things gave me a great foundation for coming to Florence, but study abroad is an experience you can only have by actually doing it; I can't express this enough. Nothing I read could have prepared me for the wonderful things I have experienced, the cultural and language glitches I've laughed over, and the people here that have impacted me in such a short time. I cannot imagine going through the rest of my academic career without having broadened my scope of the world.

I'm still in disbelief that there is only week left of school. Time goes by much to quick here and I just wish it would slow down! Wish me luck as I spend the next few days buried in finals and packing!

A Weekend "Home"

Have you ever realized that what may be a simple routine for a local could be something full of mystery for a visitor? When our eyes get used to a place, we start losing the little and most important details; everything turns to be just ‘normal’ and ‘average’. But for a tourist, all is new.

Almost three months of living in Florence has led me to believe that I am now at that stage where I try to not be classified as a tourist in the city. This isn’t working as well as I’d like it to considering I am blonde, and usually carry a camera around my neck. Nonetheless, I am finally starting to feel and understand the difference from living in Florence to just visiting as a tourist. The lost Americans, with their cameras in one hand and maps in the other, are starting to become very obvious to me. It reminds me of how much I must have stuck out like a sore thumb when I first arrived. 

This weekend I found myself sprawled out on the grass for hours enjoying the sunshine. Surprisingly, this has been the first full weekend I have spent in Florence since arriving in Europe. As much as I love jetting off to new places each weekend, there comes a point when you need both a mental and physical break from it all. 

I thought I would regret not taking the opportunity to travel this weekend. However, as my roommates and I spent our weekend at "home", verses playing tourist in other cities, I realized how lucky I was to have had wonderful quality time in this city I have come to love so much.

Expectations

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain falling outside. Normally, I would have groaned about this seeing as the weather my first month here was nothing but rain. But today, I am taking full advantage of this weather by enjoying a slow morning away from the abundance of tourists that flock the streets of Florence on the weekends.

With midterms over, my class workload was much lighter this week leaving me with time to simply sit, sip my coffee, and reflect about various lessons I’ve learned from my travels thus far. These past couple weeks, you’ve read all about my adventures to varying cities and what my impressions were of them. I’ve decided to mix it up a bit today and share an important lesson I have learned while being here. 

I’ll be the first to admit that I often hold high expectations in my head about a place I’ll be traveling to. These thoughts often stem from movies I’ve watched, books I’ve read or pictures I’ve seen. I used to be one who would sit for hours pouring over books, websites, and films trying to learn as much as I could about the place I was traveling to. In fact, I would learn so much, that when I actually got to the place, I would get disappointed because it failed to match the image I had created in my head. 

I’m getting better though, I promise you. The more I travel, the more I am beginning to grasp that sometimes things don’t go exactly as planned. You should never rely on your expectations.

Despite this, I do believe one of the best parts of traveling is the expectation. Having something to look forward to. Knowing that you’re going to be confronted by an environment that’s entirely different from your own. The other side of expectation, however, is the risk of prejudging a place you’re visiting without having seen or experienced it yet and putting unrealistic expectations on the experience you hope to have there. When we expect travel destinations to fulfill some fantasy we’ve dreamed up in our minds, it’s easy to feel let down when your vision just simply doesn’t prepare you for the reality.

But here’s the reality: travel isn’t always easy or comfortable. Sometimes, you may not get your own way, but sometimes you will. You’ve just got to learn to roll with the punches and stay flexible so you can adjust your perspective to each new and different situation.

So although it’s sometimes hard to balance travel expectations, I’m learning to wipe my mental slate clean and to approach each travel experience like a blank journal, ready to record each moment as it comes.

Happy Friday!

Follow Your Nose!

One of the perks of living here is you get to unfold all the little secrets that Florence has to offer.  Every day is a mystery to solve!  I’ll let you in on a little secret I have just recently discovered. 

Two words…Secret. Bakeries.

If you've spent any length of time in Florence you've probably heard the whisperings about the secret bakeries. The night bakeries are not “secret” in the sense that they are unknown. Instead, it is their location that makes them secret, tucked away into the maze of streets. They are inconspicuous and hard to find. Without a doubt, the best way to find them is to follow your nose.

 It wasn’t until this past weekend that we found the secret bakery. A good friend of mine from high school, Heidi, is currently studying abroad in Bulgaria. This week, her and two of her friends made the trek to Italy for their spring break and decided to spend a couple days here in Florence! It was so wonderful seeing a familiar face and being able to show them around this city.

 While out late one night, we had the cravings for a late night indulgence! Suddenly, we were struck by a delicious savory scent emanating from a back alley. We followed the scent to the source where we encountered another group of people standing in front of a glass door.

An Italian man emerged in a white baker’s apron. The people in front of us handed him a couple Euros in exchange for three large white bags filled with pastries. When it was my turn, I asked the baker for “something with chocolate.” In exchange for one euro, I received a warm croissant with a gooey nutella filling. It was so delicious that Heidi and I may or may not have gone up for seconds…or thirds. (:

 

Nighttime snacking lacks in Florence, since most places close by 10pm. Therefore, finding one of these “secret bakeries” feels not only like an accomplishment, but a delicious chocolate-filled nighttime adventure!