There are some things you can be taught and others you have to learn. For me these can be two very different things. There are many things you can be taught in a classroom but it might not be until you reach a certain situation that you need to truly learn how to overcome something or how to adapt to a situation at hand.
I can officially count my days left in Europe with the fingers on my hand and it's really bittersweet. There have been way too many moments of self reflection this semester not just
about the semester but about myself and where my life is headed that I most likely would have had no matter where in the world I was
but being here did give me a different perspective on the situations.
1.
Try your hardest to come here with an open mind/no preconceived notions: I am definitely the first person to tell you that Florence wouldn't have been my first choice in locations to study abroad. I had my mind set up on how Italy was because my uncle is from Milan and I had been to Italy before. But visiting for a few days and actually living with the city, not just
in it but
with it became its own new adventure. At times it was hard to adjust my brain and look around with a new perspective but the moments I did was so refreshing and I wish I had done that since the beginning.
2.
Be prepared for the unexpected and the annoying: From lost or stolen credit cards/wallets/phones to your money being drained from your bank account because of someone hacking an ATM, to maybe you not getting along with your roommates, to last minute changes to trips you had been planning with your friends... Europe is full of the unexpected. You can't let yourself be defeated by these things that ultimately you will have no control over. Is it frustrating? 100% YES. Is it avoidable? Sometimes yes and a lot of the times not really. Will you want to cry and yell and just hide away? Most likely, but you'll also get over it. Most things will have their solution and if they don't you've just gotta learn to roll with the punches.
3.
Your money will disappear: Trust me! No matter how hard you try, twenty euros goes by ridiculously fast here, and when you start adding up twenty euros here, twenty euros there it all starts going by really quickly. Just breathe, realize what you may be able to cut out, like probably that three euro cappuccino when you can probs find another place that makes it for one euro and twenty.
4.
It's okay to not go to the same places as your friends: You know there were a lot of places some of my friends went to like Switzerland, Austria, Budapest, Poland, the list goes on and on. But there's nothing wrong with making your time abroad
yours. If you have no interest in going to Switzerland, don't feel like you
have to go because all your friends are going. If you really want to go randomly to like Léon in France, then for all means GO FOR IT. Time goes by so quickly when you're abroad, but with that being said...
5.
Don't get caught up traveling so much that you don't get to explore your host city!: One of the best things I've done this semester has been to just sit back some weekends and chill out in Florence. The city is so much fun on the weekends especially more so as time went by in the semester and the summer tourists went away. I got to walk through a lot of old and small alleys and discover some amazing shops I wouldn't have done otherwise had I not stuck around in Florence.
6.
It's okay to not be in love with your host city: This one was probably the hardest for me to come to terms with. My parents sacrificed a lot for me to study abroad this semester and I don't take that for granted at all, but I never really fell in love with Florence the same way other people in my program did. I'm not entirely sure why this was honestly. With that said I loved Europe. I've known for a while that when I graduate I would want to get a job in a city in Europe (fingers crossed for Barcelona maybe lol). But I think it's okay to not be in love with the city. Not everyone loves New York, not everyone loves Los Angeles, everyone has their own personal preference and mine just didn't happen to be Florence.
7.
Take a trip by yourself! : I did this twice this semester, once to Barcelona, Spain and later to Dublin, Ireland. These two trips were honestly some of the most fun for me. I got to explore the cities by myself at my own pace and really do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. It was a weekend of feeling completely free and not tied down to anyone or anything. It might sound scary at first but it's so worth getting out of your comfort zone and challenging yourself.
8.
It's completely okay to miss your home: Homesickness is a real thing. Whether it happens to you at the beginning of the semester due to culture shock or later because you're exhausted and just want to lie down on your bed at home and miss your mom, it can happen at any moment. But don't let that stop you from experiencing this time abroad. Don't let the homesickness take over you and impede you, cause down the line you may end up regretting wasting an entire weekend in your bed.
9.
Be cautious of your surroundings but don't be afraid to talk with locals: You get warned so many times to not trust anyone and always be aware of your belongings that you end up just being terrified of basically everyone that walks past you. Learn to engage with the locals, attempt to speak in their language even if you're terrified of messing up, get lost for a moment down a street (during the day though, please don't do this at like 2 am). I found it frustrating at times how people in Florence have gotten so used to there being so many tourists that they'll initiate conversations in English already when all I want to do is practice my Italian. I've realized the only way I can really combat this is to just keep replying in Italian (even if it's not the best) and they somewhat get the hint that I'm trying to converse in their own language and more times than not they've actually switched over back to Italian or even apologized in Italian and picked the conversation back up in Italian.
10.
It goes by so fast, don't get hung up on the little things: There were soooo many times this semester I wanted to just yell at the top of my lungs because of the stupidest little things but then I thought, do I
really want to ruin an entire day because of this minute little thing. Your days are limited here, enjoy the moments of nice weather when you get to walk around and explore because sometimes you will have an entire weekend of terrible weather and you'll be mad you didn't take advantage of the days earlier on. Enjoy this time where you get to be a bit selfish with your decisions and you don't have to justify your decisions. If you want to go to Amsterdam for a weekend and then do Paris, by all means DO IT! So many times I've gotten messages saying "omg I'm so jealous of you" but I've also gotten some messages that say "well are you
really studying?" "are you
actually learning anything over there?" and these are honestly some of the most hurtful messages. People have a misconception of what studying abroad is because re-read the name of it it's STUDYING abroad. I've learned a ridiculous amount this past semester, not just at school but also about my life and the life I want to live past this semester. I've had some amazing professors during my time in Florence and I've gotten a new perspective on my field of study that I wouldn't have had I not studied in Italy this semester. I'm currently writing this in my school's common area and there's currently twelve students in here like me studying for the exams they have this upcoming week, we all take our studies seriously. What I believe we've been able to learn is just manage our times better, we know when we have to really crack down and hit the books, and when we have time to take a weekend out of Florence and explore a new city.
I will forever remember my time abroad and all the amazing memories I take with me. I have to give a huge thank you to my parents but also to my family overall, from my brother to grandparents and my aunts. They have been my sounding board this past semester and I couldn't have survived this past semester without any of them.
Like always you can find me on:
Instagram @alefishman
VSCO /alefish
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