I’ve never been a city girl. Growing up in rural Rhode Island, I’ve always been much happier climbing a tree or exploring the woods than I have been sightseeing in a crowded, busy city. I firmly believed that I would never live anywhere other than in a forest, or at the very least a small town, until I decided to study abroad in Florence, Italy. To be fair, Florence is a very different from the chaotic streets of New York City, or the hustle and bustle of London, but for me, Florence was as different from my home as it gets, and living there definitely changed me for the better.
When I first arrived in Florence, everything seemed new and scary. I had no idea how to navigate a city, and in the first few weeks I was there, I struggled to find my way around the winding streets and narrow alleyways of the city. I didn’t want to seem touristy, so carrying a map around with me was out of the question, and attempting to actually communicate with strangers was a horrifying prospect, so I ended up wandering around aimlessly, and eventually getting to where I needed to go after an hour of walking, minimum.
Even after I’d gotten used to the layout of Florence, getting from point A to point B was usually still a challenge. During the week, especially during the winter months, Florence is a pretty quiet city, but on the weekends and during the spring and summer, tourists flood into the cobblestone paved streets and clog the alleyways until its nearly impossible to get from one place to another in a timely fashion.
Trying to adjust to the culture shock of living in a city was a challenge as well: because I was used to the only noise outside of my bedroom window being birds chirping, the sounds of people milling around outside and trucks driving by in the early morning hours was hard to get used to, and completely destroyed my sleep habits. The noise factor was also multiplied for my particular living situation because my apartment was right above a restaurant/bar that was always frequented by avid sports fans that would make sure to let everyone on our street know when something significant happened in the soccer match.
Now, you may be thinking, Why would I ever want to live in a city if this is what I have to look forward to? The answer is that even if you don’t love cities, living in a city will make you a more confident, flexible and self-reliant person. Even after all of the obstacles that I had to overcome in order to make Florence feel like home for me, I found that by the middle of the semester, I had a new tolerance for background noise, and I was navigating the streets like a pro while remaining unfazed by the sea of tourists.
When I stepped outside of my rural comfort zone and into a completely unfamiliar place that I never thought I could come to like, much less love, I opened myself up to new opportunities that allowed me to grow as a person. Now when I visit a new place, I know that I will be able to enjoy the experience and can appreciate each new location for what it is, instead of comparing it to home.
