Howdy,
As I continue my life back home and prepare for graduation, I am constantly reminded of the good times I had in Milan and traveling Europe. Getting the opportunity to learn at the University of Bocconi was such a privilege and I am very pleased with the professors, students as well as the campus.
Living in Italy certainly had its differences than what I had grown accustomed to. For starters, the language barrier is still very prevalent, especially with the older generation of Italians. This sometimes made traveling and eating at restaurants more difficult than I would have liked. Most of the Italian students I met were very kind and welcoming when they realized I was an exchange student from the United States. However, some locals were annoyed at my lack of Italian vocabulary, which is very understandable. Another nuance I noticed while living here was that no one is ever in a rush. I seemed to be the fastest walker in the streets and had the most urgency out of anyone I had seen. This can be attributed to the Italian culture of living a generally low-stress life and maintaining relaxation. It was quite the change of pace to the fast moving life I am used to in the US.
Having the chance to travel to multiple countries in the span of a few months is an experience I will forever cherish and I will never forget the friends and memories I made along the way. I still keep in touch with the friends I met there and hope I can return to see them again sometime down the road. As much as I missed my family and friends back home, I was rather content with the life I was living in Milan. Now that I have been home, I often think about where I would like to travel next, whether it be in Europe, or on the opposite side of the globe. I am eternally grateful for the experience to live abroad for a semester and would highly recommend anyone else that gets the chance to do the same.
