Between delayed flights and missed trains, I managed to have one of the best summers of my life. 

This past summer, I was fortunate enough to have the wonderful opportunity to start my summer off studying abroad in Italy. Making the decision to study abroad has been the highlight of my college career and one of the greatest opportunities I’ve ever experienced. Being Italian, there was no doubt in my mind that Italy was my top choice when it came to where to spend my summer abroad, and I could not have asked for a better study abroad experience. I didn't know anyone going in my study abroad program, but they were all OU students so we had a common bond. I felt no sense of nervousness when preparing for this trip, just pure excitement and adrenaline.

Everyone seems to have their own crazy travel stories and mine started before I even left the United States. It was storming in Dallas when I got to the airport, which caused many delayed flights, including my flight to Madrid. My professors, along with a few other OU students in the group, were scheduled to fly into Dallas from Oklahoma City so that we could all fly to Spain together. Well, that didn’t happen. Due to bad weather, their flight to Dallas got canceled and they were stuck in Oklahoma City for the night, causing much panic since we had a very tight schedule. Thankfully, I found a new friend in my study abroad group who was from Dallas and on my flight to Spain. We we didn't have but the guidance of our professors, stuck in Oklahoma City, so it was up to two 20 year old girls to navigate our way to Italy.

My new friend and I made it to Madrid, where I attempted to put my two years of high school Spanish to good use, but hen it came to dealing with the language barrier, my meager basics didn't cut it.  After a two-hour flight from Madrid, we arrived in Milan, Italy and met up with the rest of our group. I quickly realized that a go with the flow mindset was best, while in Italy, because most things didn’t go the way we planned, whether it was missing our train from Florence to Pisa, or getting lost in the streets of Rome. The possibilities were endless.         

Traveling through the towns of Milan, Parma, Maranello, Arezzo, Cinque Terre, Florence, Pisa and Rome was amazing. I was exposed to so many new experiences throughout my time abroad that I could never learn from reading a textbook. I met so many wonderful people and share an array of memories with them from our time abroad. I will forever be thankful for this wonderful opportunity, and Italy will always have a very special place in my heart.