Making The Most of It.

Buongiorno!

Wow, it has been a long time since I last wrote here, and my deepest apologies for not doing so sooner! As some of you may know, I am currently living in Florence for a couple of months studying the culture, architecture, cuisine, and classic pieces of literature. It has been a whirlwind of emotions the past month, with the first few weeks being the hardest. I really went in with the idea that everything would be perfect. Everyone I meet will be a friend. Travel would be so easy. Money won’t be a problem. My mental health will be at its best. I won’t want to go home. I will travel every weekend. I would speak to so many people who were romanticizing the idea of living in a foreign country for a couple of months. I began to romanticize it too! But people need to be more vocal about how hard it is to adjust! You are in a completely new country. With completely new people. A completely new home. All alone (for me at least). I had to try and really stick to what I wrote about a few posts back, getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. I wanted to go home many times, thinking I made a mistake, but I just wasn’t giving myself enough credit.

Thanks to the journal my brother gifted me I record everything. I have drawn each place I have traveled to, written down every encounter with a local Italian, talked about how much I missed home, but most of all I write about how I am feeling full. It took me a while to finally feel this way. Full of laughter, full of once in a lifetime experience, full of learning, full of a few mistakes, but full of the greatest food ever. I wish people would talk about the hard things that people experience when starting something new. It won’t be pretty at the start, actually it will be quite messy, uncomfortable and scary.

What made me finally happy with my decision being here wasn’t the trips to Switzerland, France, Monaco, Rome, Naples, Vatican City, Florence, Cinque Terre, Verona and soon Hungary. It was actually the two and a half days that I spent by myself exploring the beautiful city of Florence. I did things I would have never done in America. I went hours a day walking around all the different streets, piazzas, markets, coffee bars, and restaurants. I spoke with some of the nicest locals at wine windows, a market in Santo Spirito, a jewelry store on the Ponte Vecchio, a quiet restaurant at the end of the cutest street (Ristorante Pizzeria Ginori) and a family who complimented my drawings in my journal. This is what makes abroad worth it: getting to know your temporary home. Was it still scary? Yes! I felt like I still had to be around a person in order to have a fulfilling time abroad! But I am the person who controls the experience and what I want to get out of it. This is true not only for abroad, but I feel like life in general. I would say, wherever you are, go get dinner by yourself. You would be surprised at how independent and confident you feel. Take a day trip to a town that you want to go to that’s near your home. You might have the best time.

But my biggest piece of advice is do not try to shrug away the feelings of being overwhelmed, anxious or burnt out. The worst thing you could do is lie to yourself or others when they try to check up on you. Be honest with yourself. Be proud of yourself. I would love nothing more than to talk about only the good moments. Swimming in the ocean in France, exploring vineyards in Tuscany, going all across the historic sites of Rome, exploring the mountains of Switzerland, seeing insane yachts in Monte Carlo, and seeing around the autumn changes in Hungary. I will also tell you about 40 minute train delays, too big of a credit card bill, getting lost trying to find my apartment, trying a food dish that was not appetizing, street vendors trying to scam you, and losing a ring you bought the same day. Like all aspects of life, nothing can be perfect. Taking a deep breath and then maybe getting yourself a glass of wine with friends to end the day on a few laughs could be the remedy you need. Life is what you make of it.

Alla prossima! Ciao!