Butterflies in My Stomach

I can hardly believe it's January 10, two days away from the the moment I've been planning and preparing for over the course of a year! It finally hit me yesterday when I said farewell to some close friends and family. Ever since, it's been quite an emotional roller coaster. One minute I'm calm, collected, and feeling prepared. The next minute, I'm panicking, realizing that my knowledge of Italian is virtually nonexistent other than a few words, and wondering how I will survive for 3 long months without Devin (my boyfriend and best friend of 6 years).

I will be living and studying in Macerata with other American students for the winter semester. Macerata is a small, medieval walled city, northwest of Rome. Our institute is linked to an Italian university established in 1290.

Luckily, I have some experience traveling internationally. Two summers ago, I spent a month teaching and volunteering at an elementary school in rural India. It was my first time traveling abroad without an adult. I can hardly believe I was brave enough to take that first step by going to literally the opposite side of the world. Not to mention the amenities where I was staying in India were extremely basic, and I had to really rough it for 4 weeks without access to flushing toilets and running water during the day. After that experience in mind, I feel that 3 months in Italy won't be so bad.

Actually, I know that studying in Italy will be probably one of the most incredible experiences of my life. What a wonderful opportunity to truly immerse myself in a different culture, to pick up a foreign language by speaking it daily to survive, and to surround myself with some of the world's richest history. Spending 3 months in Italy, the cradle of Western civilization, is a dream of any history major. I just completed my independent study on women in Western Europe during the 4th and 5th centuries, when Christianity was becoming a united religion. I can't wait to see those historical people and places I studied come alive. I also hope this trip will inspire ideas for future research projects, like my senior thesis--possibly even doctoral research many years down the line.

Though it will be challenging at times, I have so much to look forward to. I'm so thankful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I hope to make the best of it. My flight leaves at 10:30 on Tuesday morning. 35 more hours! As my departure gets closer, the butterflies in my stomach become more frequent--but I can't wait to begin another adventure!