Mid-Semester Progress Recap with Study Abroad Coordinator, Emily Yanchak
by | Emily Yanchak
As I’m approaching the halfway point of my semester abroad, I’ve realized that I’ve learned so much in such a short period of time. The exposure to a completely different culture in a whole new country has not only taught me about a place I knew so little about, but it’s also brought out a side of myself I didn’t know existed.
Within the past two months, I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs, and I’ve experienced many victories as well as disheartening defeats. Leading up to this trip, I had many doubts in the back of my mind. I was worried about being so far from home for such an extended period of time. As someone who had never been outside of the U.S., I was also concerned about traveling abroad without the comfort of my family. Before embarking on my journey, I only knew one person on this trip, and I feared I wouldn’t make any new friends and that I wouldn’t get along with my roommates.
Those fears weren’t matched with reality. Upon arrival, my roommates and I clicked almost immediately. I live with seven other girls, and I am relatively close to five of them. From the start, the six of us bonded because most of us were in the same boat and had many of the same fears. We began exploring the city together, and we navigated how to communicate as roommates, but also as friends. Together, we’ve found our favorite study spots, places to eat, bookstores, and more. With my roommates, I’ve learned about and witnessed much of the culture here in Italy. It is with these five girls that I share many of my joyful moments from the trip thus far. At the end of almost every day, we spend a large portion of our evenings together in the common room of our apartment talking, laughing, and making memories. Being in such close quarters has made us bond in ways I never could have imagined. For example, my roommate Taylor has been teaching me to cook, and my roommate Sofia and I like a lot of the same music. We are even going to a concert together in Germany.
Despite so much good, the adjustment to the Italian lifestyle was a learning curve. As mentioned before, I’ve had bad days, too, and adjusting to the Italian lifestyle was a steep learning curve. My roommates and I learned the hard way that there are public and private beaches in Europe. Similarly, we took a trip to the Cinque Terre and paid to hike a trail that we couldn’t actually go on. On a larger scale, there are certain aspects of being in a completely new environment that held me back for the first few weeks. For a while I was scared to communicate with locals because my Italian isn’t very good, and I know so little of the language. Additionally, I’ve experienced pressure to both constantly travel and go out because that’s what most of my peers are doing. Homesickness also comes and goes, and battling it can be hard at times. But with each fear and concern I’ve experienced, I’ve also learned healthy ways to balance the emotions I’ve faced while abroad. For instance, I’ve learned that when I’m homesick, it’s important to let myself miss everyone and everything I love at home, but it’s equally as important to know how to control it and not let it consume me. Furthermore, there are times when I wish my family or my best friend, Savana could experience all the wonderful things I am every day. But over the past two months, I’ve found new ways to connect to the people I love at home. A few weeks ago, I went to the Italian cinema and saw a movie my dad recommended to me, and it made me feel like he was right there with me.
At the beginning of my adventure abroad, the school psychologist spoke to everyone during orientation, and she told us all that we were essentially paying for a growth experience. And because of how much I’ve learned, grown, and changed over the past few weeks, I couldn’t agree more. From this trip, I’ve learned so much about being independent and managing my time between school, friends, family, travel, and also time for myself. I’ve learned to not lose sight of my hobbies while I’m here: I read, journal, and listen to music every day. I’ve learned to live in the moment and enjoy the simple things in life. From this experience, I can feel myself changing and growing more and more into the person I’m meant to be. I look back on the person I was before coming to Italy, and I’ve realized she would be so proud of who I am now because of how this trip has shaped me. I cannot wait to continue my journey not only throughout Italy but my journey to finding myself.
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