I have now been home for almost two weeks and I can honestly say I already miss Rome. I thought there would be an initial shock once I spent my first full day back in America, but I fell back into routine almost immediately. I was able to drive my car without any effort and navigate around time like I had never left. Although, this time during Winter Break I felt like something was missing. Rome is what was missing from my life now. Rome has become a new part of me, a city where I learned so much, saw things I had learned about my whole life, and where I grew as a person. College had already allowed me a great deal of independence and freedom, Rome gave me even more. This fall semester was primarily for my studies and learning, however, it was also good for my soul.
The half of December I was abroad involved me traveling to Amsterdam the first weekend and then staying in Italy, which I honestly had no problem with at all. In Amsterdam, my friend Sophie and I took our time each day and explored the city. We took a boat canal tour, shopped, tried a lot of new food, and went to the Rijks Museum. We did not have to rely on anyone else and enjoyed our last weekend abroad traveling before we had to crack down on our final papers and studying for final exams. And even though I spent my last week in Italy with finals, I still had a fun time and was able to spend time with my new friends.
To anyone reading this who is thinking about studying abroad, I highly advise you to do so. Studying abroad will give you an experience and teach you things time at your home college will not be able to give you. If you are unsure about which program to do or which country you want to stay in, go to the Study Abroad office and talk to the advisors, they only want to help you. Studying abroad provided with the most amazing time of my life so far and to be honest, if I could go back and do it again, I would.