Studying abroad in Italy was seriously one of the best, most transformative experiences of my life. Traveling almost every weekend, meeting people from all over the world, and really growing as a person has me already missing my time spent in Europe. I have been back in America for a few days now and am having a hard time accepting this as the new normal.
After ten hours of flying, I arrived in the States this past Saturday. I was so excited to be back with my family and to be in a place where everyone understood me. I was ready to enjoy some of the food places I have missed and to be living in the comforts of my own home without any roommates. It was kind of weird though getting off the plane and being surrounded by signs in English, no longer seeing words like "Ciao" or "Allora." I guess Italian culture had become a bigger part of my life than I originally thought, and it was going to take more time to return to my American ways.
Our first meal out as a family was to Ruby Tuesday's, a favorite of mine. Instead of putting butter on my bread, I found myself asking for olive oil and, oddly enough, being disappointed when gnocchi wasn't on the menu. I was pleased though to be reunited with my favorite food, mozzarella sticks. After dinner, I treated myself to some Starbucks, missing my Strawberry Acai Refresher, which apparently isn't a thing in foreign countries. The next day, I chowed down on some Chick-fil-A and Panera, and with that, my American food crawl was complete.
Another thing that I found interesting is that I constantly check my phone to see what time it is in Florence, trying to figure out what time would be best to reach out to my friends still studying there. If you told me that I would be doing this when I first arrived in Italy, I definitely wouldn't believe you. It's crazy how in just a short period of time somewhere can become home and how the people there can become some of the best you ever met. Although it is nice to be back in my own bed, I am still experiencing problems sleeping. When they say that it may take a while to get used to the six-hour time difference, they aren't kidding! My first night home I crashed at 10 P.M. (5 A.M. Florence time) and woke up in the middle of the night several times. I wake up super early in the morning and cannot fall back to sleep for the life of me. I am no longer capable of staying up later at night either, so basically my sleeping schedule is way off. I find myself with zero energy and other than going out for food, wanting to stay in bed all day. Hopefully, returning to my part-time job next week though will help make things normal again. With all the excitement and adventure that Florence brought into my life, it is kind of comforting to have a relaxing summer of making back all the money I spent abroad.
Abroad... it's so strange hearing that word in the past tense. To think that being in Florence a few days ago has turned into me saying that time when I was abroad. To think that all those people I have met are slowly turning into just memories and that I will be returning for senior year at Penn State in the Fall. Although I am ready to see my friends again, I can easily see myself growing tired of PSU after the first month. Besides exploring the bar scene for the first time (and even that isn't so interesting), I have basically done everything at Penn State. Abroad has taught me that there is so much more to life than Penn State. Penn State is such a small place compared to the entire world, and people need to realize that after college your social standing there doesn't matter in the slightest. What does matter is the person you have become and your determination to continue bettering yourself upon entering the real world.
