The day before finding out our program in Rome was cancelled, I spent the morning in Villa Doria Pamphili. A park on the west side of the city, only a 10-minute tram ride from my apartment, Villa Pamphili became my ‘happy place’ after my very first visit. On that Friday morning, walking to my usual…
Life After Lots of Tea
I had the opportunity to study abroad. It is phrase that most times comes with amazing stories and positivity. It is something that will always be a part of my time at Rollins. It hard to know how my perceptions have changed given the way it all ended. I can say that it was an…
Blog #4 – Back to Reality
I started my first blog post on this site with “As I sit at home in Miami writing this, I am filled with shock and excitement.” It seems an appropriate way to begin this blog post too. I am back in Miami. I feel shock. I don’t feel excitement. I do feel at peace though….
Long Live London !
When I had first planned on going to London, I knew that I would meet so many people, but not just other people like me, ones from all over the country and the word that all had different backgrounds than I have. I was prepared to meet them, but never expected to get so close…
Final Blog Post about studying abroad in Japan
One week after returning from Japan, I started to think about how my perceptions changed after this exciting living experience. Before I came to Japan, I already learned that there were certain implicit rules in Japanese society such as no phone calls, eating or drinking in public. However, when I actually came to Japan, I…
Comparing the Experience to the Assumption
Coming home so suddenly from being abroad was a shock, as I’m sure it was for most students. I am grateful however, for the time that I did get to spend in another country. I want to talk a little about my learning experience abroad compared with what I had been expecting beforehand. I was…
Final Blog Post from America
Such a hard time getting back from such a beautiful and unforgettable month abroad in Italy. It has been very painful to cut my experience abroad short. My perceptions of my identity from my first blog post haven’t changed, though. I still have my same mentality because I won’t let these drastic life and disappointing…
Final Days in London
My final days in London were a whirlwind of changes. The original day I was supposed to come home to Florida was April 18th, I came home exactly one month before on March 18th. I found out on March 13rd that I would have to come home but my mom and sister had a trip…
My main man Willy Shakes
A lot has happened since my last post, but I’ll get to that later. First, I want to talk about my final trip with the school. I got to go to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. I am a theatre major, so I have learned a lot about Willy Shakes in many of my…
What I’ve learned, thanks London
If you’re reading this, I assume you’re wondering, what did I learn while I was abroad? (As this is the entire point of this short-ish personal narrative—which means you care enough to follow along as I come up with a viable answer). Thank you for asking. To be completely honest with you, as I was…