Sitting in gate nine of John F. Kennedy Airport waiting for my overnight flight to Rome, Italy on August 29, I am feeling quite a lot of things. Both excitement and nerves are high. I am torn between jumping up and down in excitement and going to the bathroom and crying. Neither wins, so I just sit, staring out at all the planes pulling into the runway.
I have been preparing for this trip since October of 2009 when I decided to study abroad with International Studies Abroad in Florence, Italy. I will be in Italy from Aug. 29, 2010 to Dec. 18, 2010. My group is spending the first few days in Rome, and then settling into Florence with the occasional weekend trip to areas around Tuscany, such as Cinque Terre and Siena. I also hope to travel to other areas of Europe while I am there, such as Greece, Prague and Germany.
I have always been interested in other cultures, yet have never had the experience of leaving the country (except for a brief stop in Canada on a cruise and a week in St. Maarten when I was much, much younger). Given the "vacation-y" nature of these two trips, I have never really counted them as "real" cultural experiences. I want to truly immerse myself in another world, understand a different culture to hopefully better understand myself, my own culture and the world.
As an aspiring journalist, this sort of cultural sensitivity and understanding is even more imperative. The ideal of reporting is to bring clarity to people about the confusing and complicated events that take place all over the world. How can I write about culturally sensitive issues without being able to understand a culture myself? Travelling the world is my dream, and it will inevitably help me in any career I end up choosing.
And, well, besides all that noble stuff, I really just think it will be an absolutely amazing time. I would be lying if I said I was not excited about the food or the fact that the drinking age in Italy is 16, so at 20, I can try some of Italy's famed wines. It is definitely more than just tasting the food and drinks, though. It is about experiencing the culture and taking it in for all it is worth.
From Italy, I hope to gain insight into the world and myself. I want to come back with loads of great memories, great friends, and great pictures (which I may or may not share on Facebook.) I hope not to gain weight like everyone says I unavoidably will, although if it happens, it happens. I am not saying no to an extra slice of pizza, period. Mostly, though, I just hope to have fun and learn as much as I possibly can.
All the people I have ever talked to that have studied abroad have said it was the most amazing experience of their lives, and they would not trade it for the world. I hope when I return to the good ole' U S of A, I will want to tell everyone thinking of studying abroad the exact same thing.
Caitlin Carroll can be reached at caitlin.carroll@student.shu.edu
If you liked Caitlin's introduction to Rome, follow her blog: http://caitigirl.wordpress.com/ She'll be updating as she spends her semester in Italy.
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