As my semester abroad comes to an end, the thought of leaving Italy feels bittersweet. I’m excited to come home, but I also wish I could stay in Milan much longer. When I made my decision to study abroad in Italy, I honestly intended on spending most of my time traveling, specifically to other countries, and not spending much time here. I was fortunate enough to have visited Italy years ago and went to places like Venice, Florence, Pisa, Rome, and even the Vatican City. Therefore, I was under the impression that there wasn’t much for me here, but I was so wrong.
The exchange program at Bocconi connected me with so many people from all over the world who I’ve grown very close with. I didn’t really expect to make a lot of friends from other places, but am so grateful to have done so. In my classes, I got to collaborate with students from Italy, Romania, Germany, Australia, and Vietnam to do some really cool projects for real companies in Milan. Being able to work with people from different places was an incredible experience. I’ve also really enjoyed sharing U.S. culture with other people as well as learning more about theirs. For example, some of the other Aggies here and I actually did get to celebrate Thanksgiving in Italy this year along with friends we’ve made from France, Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Argentina, New Zealand, etc. It was so fun to share one of our holidays with other people and to hear them say they’re going to do it again next year with their friends. I came here with the goal of traveling to as many places as possible but ended up preferring to spend more time with my friends here, which I didn’t expect.
As for Italy, the primary aspect of my perspective that has changed is my thoughts on actually having a life here in the long term. Initially, I viewed living in Italy as something better comparable to a vacation. It’s a place you visit for amazing food, wine, history, art, etc. I never foresaw myself feeling at home, but I do. I’m excited to go back to Texas, but I don’t want to leave here forever. Overall, I’ve really grown more attached to Italy than I could have imagined. I’m so thankful to have been able to spend my semester abroad in Milan and have absolutely no regrets aside from not being able to stay here longer.
