Last summer, I had the privilege of traveling to Italy for four weeks through the study abroad program at my school. It was easily the best four weeks of my life thus far, despite some minor complications. Those four weeks were not only the best weeks of my life but also the most informative. Here are five things I learned from studying abroad.
1. How to communicate with people who don't share the same language
Whether it was using Google Translate or pointing to various menu items, I was able to make it through four weeks in Italy not knowing a single word of their language. My group was lucky enough to have one student who knew some Portuguese, which was similar enough to Italian that when we were really struggling, he was able to step in and help us out.
2. How precious hot water is
Even though I wasn't in a third world country where clean water is a rarity, I still learned the value of a hot shower. During my four weeks, I was in an apartment with two other girls. We shared one bathroom. Our hot water heater was super small and therefore we had to negotiate shower times. Sometimes this meant that I would be showering at 1 am just because the hot water tank was full.
3. International appliances ARE NOT the same as US ones
Yes, I did start a fire in our microwave at 2 am while trying to microwave a frozen pizza. No, I did not burn the building down, nor did I use the microwave the rest of the time we were there. I had never in my life seen a microwave with a knob that turned to adjust the temperature of the microwave, or of how hot the food got...still not 100% sure what the temperature knob was for. After this incident, we received a tutorial on international appliances from our professor, which would have been helpful a few days sooner, just saying.
4. Not all foreigners hate Americans
While abroad, my group became regulars at a cafe in the neighborhood we were staying. The owner and manager of the cafe loved when we would go to the cafe because we would spend hours just talking and learning about different traditions, customs, and ways of life. I never thought I would end up explaining the process of how twins are born to a person who was a twin, but I was sure glad that I had taken that bio course freshman year. I ended up becoming friends with these two lovely guys and was able to learn so much from them.
5. TRAVEL
The most important thing I learned from studying abroad is that you need to travel while you can. As cliche as it sounds, my time studying abroad is the most memorable time I've experienced. I am forever thankful that I applied to go, thinking "how am I ever going to convince my parents to let me go to Italy for four weeks". Seriously, if the opportunity is presented to you, take it.
