My initial impressions of campus life and class in Milan ended up being pretty accurate, but overall I learned more than I have in any semester of my life thus far. I think this was most impactful in two regards, one individual and one social. Starting A&M in 2023, I learned what many other students do about living more independently and being responsible. However, I was always a short drive from Houston, where my family is, and I had friends from high school at A&M and nearby at that school in Austin. This was completely different because I arrived in Italy by myself, with no luggage, with very poorly communicated instructions on how to find my apartment. This put me out of my comfort zone in a great way, and it encouraged me to put myself out there and meet people, ask for help with directions, and learn to cook Italian food. I think that this independence also brought a degree of freedom, because my schedule was more open and instead of saying “man, I’ve always wanted to travel there” I could say “this is the best chance I’ll ever have to explore this area, I’ll check when the cheapest flights are”. As far as the social aspect I mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind are my roommates. I signed up for one room of a six room apartment, and I could not have hoped for a better group of roommates. Across the six of us, we were from five different countries and attending five different schools in Milan. We all got very close, and outside of just meeting them, being from different countries and schools in the city significantly broadened the range of people I met and befriended through my roommates. We often traveled, cooked, and spent time together around the city, and I am grateful that I was able to learn about all of them and their countries. I also routinely played basketball with a large group of Italian, American, and international students from various countries. It was always fun to get a bit of exercise and competition, but through that outlet I was also able to meet a friendly and diverse group of individuals. I have always been interested in global culture and history, but this semester all of that interest has become much more personal. Instead of sentences on a book or computer screen, I have a much more tangible reference and learned things that aren’t included on wikipedia overviews. I feel very lucky that I met so many people from so many places, and it has left a strong impression on me. I think it has changed my perspective and given me a broader view of the world, and that’s valuable to me.
