Student Bloggers

Hey! I’m Gillian, and I’m an Anthropology major at the University of Colorado Boulder. Hopefully this blog will give those that are paying for my college education a shred of hope that I will be able to do something with my need for travel and invasive curiosity about the human condition.

During my time abroad, I’m hoping to not only learn more about myself - as promised by every program offered - but about the people surrounding me in my new home as well. However, as any nervous college student would, I am trying to understand the people and culture of the country where I’m headed, without any actual person to person communication. In times like this I am most thankful for living in the generation of social media and over-sharing, because there really is a blog post or forum to answer any strange question my millennial-mind can conjure.

I’ve always thought that one’s most frequent Google Searches can reveal a lot about them (unless that individual is a pubescent male, in which case, I really hope that statement isn’t always true). Considering that my only textual preparation for my time abroad in Perugia, Italy is a Lonely Planet travel guide published in 1996, Google has been my right hand man.

As embarrassing as they may be, my most recent searches have led to articles titled What to Wear in Italy: Dress like a Local as well as The Quick and Easy Routine for Curly Hair in Humidity and my personal favorite, Italian Tinder is a Mesmerizing Gallery of Hotties. While having been raised by a Romanian mother definitely prepared me for living in Europe more than most, I think my Google searches reveal that instead of appearing to be a ‘tourista americana,’ I would rather people assume my name is Giovanna, not Gillian.

Thus far, my extensive (albeit sometimes inconclusive) research has taught me a few things:

1. Neutral colors like cream, olive, navy and black, are always in-style no matter the season.
2. Always have your shoulders covered and pants or a skirt that extend past your knees when entering a church or cathedral.
3. Men never wear athletic shorts unless they’re actually doing some sort of physical activity (and it was made painfully clear that this does not include walking from their apartment to their University campus).
4. Between the Lucases, Lorenzos and Luigis, there really are a plethora of mesmerizing hotties.

It’s officially a week before my departure, and the funny articles are helping ease my nerves and maximize my excitement. However, I know that the only way to truly learn about the Italian people is so immerse myself in their culture (and then report back with my findings)! If this means attending the Chocolate Festival in Perugia, gawking at the beauty of medieval architecture and eating gelato until I can’t breathe, I guess I’ll just have to take one for the team.