Throughout high school, I always knew I wanted to study abroad. Italy was the first country I had ever wanted to travel to. Why Italy? I love Italian food and eating authentic Italian food seemed like the icing on the cake.
My freshman year of college I signed up to study abroad the following semester, and once sophomore year came around I was ready to travel to Europe for the first time. I'll admit, although I was super excited to finally be traveling outside of the country, I was nervous. I didn't go by myself thankfully. My study abroad experience was faculty-led through the Italy Intensives program, so I got to go with a group of students who went to the same college as me. We stayed in a small town called Certaldo located in Tuscany. P.S. Certaldo has a 0% crime rate. I'm not kidding.
I could list a dozen reasons why anyone should go on this trip, but for length purposes, here are five.
1. It doesn't feel like work because it's art based.
Ceramic Painting workshop
The thing about the Italy Intensives program is that it's an art program. You can take courses on photography, metal design, book arts, Italian literature, art history, drawing, and even yoga! Imagine doing yoga overlooking the Tuscany hills. It's extraordinary. I made my own earrings out of sea glass I found on the beach! How many people can say they've done that?
2. There's a new festival every month.
Boccaccesca, a food and wine festival, downtown Certaldo
In November vendors from all over the world come and bring their food and wine for everyone to try during Boccaccesca. Germans bring bratwursts, Japanese women bring sushi, Italian men bring yogurt, fudge, and so much more. I bought my first "legal" bottle of wine from Sicily during this festival. How much I drank I won't say.
There's also a medieval festival that lasts a day where residents dress up in large gowns and jester outfits playing drums and march through town. In the summer, Mercantia comes to town. Mercantia is a week long arts festival involving fire-breathing, lots of glitter, and Lord knows what else. Unfortunately, I wasn't there for it, but I would love to be there when it happens.
3. The food isn't imported. It's authentic.
A Venetian delicacy: squid ink.
I understand this looks incredibly disgusting, but I'm telling you it's definitely not! Of course I was hesitant to try it because 1) it's black and looks like the vomit of a demon, and 2) it's SQUID INK, but it was surprisingly delicious. I was in Venice and figured this opportunity would never rise again, so I took it. Don't knock it til you try it.
Besides squid ink, Italian pasta is to die for. There are so many different types of noodles and ways to cook them. Who knew? I love pasta in general, but homemade pasta from Italy is heaven. I never tried pesto before I went to Italy, but now I love pesto on my pasta. I also never used olive oil as my salad dressing or dipped my bread in it, but I do now.
Last but not least is the pizza. Pizza made in Italy is super thin with hardly any cheese on it at all. A slice of pizza in Italy is one-third the size of a slice of pizza from Dominoes or Papa John's. Watch out for some pizza in Italian restaurants though. They will put anchovies on it. Now that is disgusting.
4. Traveling becomes second nature.
My "freedom" pose in the Amalfi Coast
While studying abroad you don't just work. You travel. You take a train, a boat, or an airplane and you see the world. I got the chance to visit remarkable places all over Italy. I visited Rome, Florence, the Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre, Naples, Pompeii, Pisa, and I climbed Mt. Vesuvius!
Do you know the famous volcano that exploded and turned thousands of people in the town of Pompeii to ash? Yea, I climbed that! You could do that too if you join the Italy Intensives program! The experiences I got through this program was absolutely mind-blowing. I even had free time to visit Paris, Munich, and Barcelona!
5. You make a family of a lifetime.
The wonderful group I spent three months with
All I want to do is cry looking at this picture and looking through older ones. I love these people so much. We lived with each other, traveled together, ate dinners together every night, had our disagreements, and cried with each other. When we came back to the states everyone was put in a group chat so we could stay connected and hang out. We don't see or talk to each other all the time, but I know there's a place in everyone's heart for everyone in this picture. A few of them are some of my best friends to this day.
There are a few Italian friends I made not shown in this picture who I still talk to through Facebook. It's hard to believe this was two years ago already. I will never ever forget it, and I will never ever forget them. This is my Italy family. This, among many other reasons, is why studying abroad in Italy will forever be the best thing to happen to me.
If anybody has the slightest notion in their mind that they want to study abroad, I would say "do it, do it, do it" a million times over. This program cost cheaper than out of state tuition! Sure I was broke when I came back to the states, but that's beside the point. I spent it on an adventure of a lifetime, and I would do it one hundred times over if I could.
