What everyone will tell you about studying abroad boils down to one big fact: it’s super cool. As boring, as generic, and as monotonous as that sounds, it’s completely true.

In the first five days since I’ve been in Italy, I’ve seen things that I can’t even talk about without shivering. The Vatican at 3 a.m.; the villas in Tuscia; all the piazzas in Rome; the Colosseum, the Forum; and this is just day five. Day Five.

The other thing that no one will tell you, (or maybe I didn’t talk to the right people), is that the whole experience is surreal.

Seeing sights that I’ve learned about from staid textbooks and lectures where I was half-awake has been almost too much, almost unbelievable. Taking a step back, putting away my Iphone, not taking pictures, and taking a deep breath has been the only way to truly internalize what I’ve been seeing.

Where do I go from here? Well, in the next couple of weeks, I’m heading to Venice for Carnivale, Barcelona (if I book the flight), Munich for a Bayern game, Florence for a week, and the Balkan countries for my spring break.

Hopefully I’ll catch some soccer in the interim, and truly understand why AS Roma fans are such fanatics about their sport.

 

Generic ending statement: Ciao for now?

That works.