Well, this is it. The day that this last column is published, I will have exactly two weeks and four days left in Rome.
The semester is quickly coming to end. Classes are getting out earlier, attendance levels are rapidly decreasing and everyone is just about ready to go home. I can definitely say that I'm part of the increasing majority of students who hate to admit it, but are getting excited for American comforts like Chipotle and, yes, even Papa John's.
Not that it'll be easy to leave Italy. While thoughts of Memorial Day barbeques and driving my car are enticing, they aren't nearly as glamorous as touring the Roman Forum or taking weekend trips to Barcelona, Spain, and Prague, Czech Republic.
For the past few days I've been trying to reflect on the past four months and come up with some sage advice to end this column with, but it's been difficult. It's hard to analyze something that isn't even over yet. I'm not sure I'll even know what to think about this semester for quite awhile.
I can't come to many conclusions yet, but I've realized one thing, which is important for people thinking about studying abroad to know: It's a lot easier to visit a foreign country than to live in one. I visited Italy for three weeks several years ago, and was immediately taken in by the landscapes in Tuscany, the Trevi Fountain and the canals in Venice.
Seeing these sites as a tourist is completely different from actually living in a place, though. Once I was settled into my apartment, I had to live as an inhabitant of Rome, not just as a visitor. Instead of going out to long meals at restaurants, I had to budget my money. There were also everyday situations that I didn't encounter as a tourist, such as fighting with roommates and missing family and friends back home. This may make me come across as spoiled, and in some ways I am. I've been spoiled by American comforts that I had to realize don't necessarily exist in a foreign place. And while it may be easy to do without these for several weeks, it becomes harder to do without them after several months.
I don't mean for this column to sound anti-studying abroad. In fact, I advocate it! Frankly, the idea of studying at AU for four years without going abroad never even occurred to me. There are just certain things that one needs to come to terms with before leaving the country for four months.
While this conclusion that I've drawn may not sound like a major epiphany, it's something that prospective students should know. Many people joke that studying abroad is like a four-month vacation, and in a lot of ways it is, but eventually the novelty of the expedition ends. Just as long as prospective students keep it in the back of their minds that this may happen to them, the adjustment to living abroad may be a little easier.
So that's it. It's been great submitting my insights to The Eagle this past semester, but now I am out of here! See everyone back at AU!
