Whenever I told my friends and colleagues that I was going to do a study abroad in Venice, Italy in the fall, the most popular reaction I was responded with was that it is a touristy destination, the canals and streets would be nasty, and after a while there wouldn?t be much to do on the island. As the summer went on, I was starting to get influenced by these ideas and was not as excited to come here anymore. However, class registration at A&M was closed and there was no turning back considering other logistics had been planned as well. To my pleasant surprise, upon arrival, I was warmly welcomed by our Airbnb host who is the kindest person ever. In addition to the friendly people, we met within the first few days, the island itself is like dream land.
I arrived in Venice 10 days before school started and had some time to explore the city and a couple other countries in Europe. Venice is a small island, but there are multiple islands around that can be accessed by ?vaporettos? or water buses. Everything over here is aesthetically pleasing to look at and the architecture and roads have so much detail, making the walks to class exciting (it?s a 30-minute walk from San Marco). ?Being here for the past three weeks has made me realize, contrary to my prior notions, that there is a lot to do once you integrate with the local community and make friends. I joined the ESN network which is an organization for all international students doing semester exchanges or EU students doing their Erasmus. They host multiple events every week and it allows students to get to know their peers that are going through similar culture shocks. I?ve met a lot of students from other countries in Europe that I hang out with and have had a chance to explore some other cities in Italy with them as well.
Some of the biggest differences from the U.S are the fact that we drink cappuccinos and espresso after every meal with no added sugar. It has been hard getting used to drinking coffee so late in the day, but my body is starting to adjust. The classes I am taking here are all master?s level classes, but they seem much easier that the bachelor level courses at A&M. I would highly recommend finding a ?buddy? from the list that the university here sends and asking them to help you register for classes, as the university logistics are probably the most complicated thing I have encountered. It?s weird trying to figure out the system as everything is in Italian and they do not send over instructions on how to register for classes. At one point I found myself sitting in class, listening to an Italian lecture even though the syllabus said that it was taught in English. At the bottom of the page there was a little side note saying that they no longer offer it in English, so I would read the fine print before registering for a class. So far, my time in Venice has been nothing short of amazing! The Italians really do know how to have a good time and do not take life vey seriously.
