Some of the biggest takeaways from this experience were visiting so many cities in Europe, making new friends, growing as a person, being out of my comfort zone and learning from that, living in a different culture and gaining new perspective on home and my life. The advice that I would give to students who are planning on studying abroad would be to make sure that you do a lot…
“Change is the only constant in life” -Unknown It comes to the day that I’m packing up my bags and saying goodbye to the people I call my friends. The people who I have been living with in a foreign country for the last four months… Unreal! There have been so many ups and downs, so many different countries, so many challenges with the unfamiliar that I’ve had to face…
A typical day in Reggio Emilia includes going to class and going to my favorite coffee shop/restaurant called Ghirba. It’s near my apartment and I would love to go there by myself and read a book and get a coffee. The people there are always so friendly and there’s always someone who knows someenglish who can help me read the menu. I liked this place a lot because they had healthy…
Honestly, it’s taken me a while to sit down and write this post because I’ve been thinking about how I want to share my experiences, and it’s taken me some time to integrate my feelings and experiences. The first week or so I experienced a lot of mixed emotions and culture shock. I’m in Reggio Emilia, Italy, so it’s a very small town that only has a few restaurants (that…
Hello! My name is Carissa Loft and I am a senior at Western Washington University starting Fall 2017. I am majoring in Sociology and minoring in Psychology. I am studying abroad in Reggio Emilia, Italy through the University Studies Across Consortium (USAC) program. The classes they offer are education, communications, health/nutrition, and Italian studies. The classes I’m enrolled in are: · Elementary Italian (eeek!) · Italian Cinema and Film…
