Student Bloggers
The Time of My Life
Date
June 25, 2015
By Amanda C., Umbra Institute Summer, Italy
As I sit here writing this, looking over the most gorgeous view that I have had the opportunity to take for granted, I am reflecting upon this great gift I have received. I am so fortunate to have been able to study here in Perugia for the past five weeks. I didn’t realize how fast it would fly by. I didn’t realize all of the opportunities I would have to travel, to see other areas of Italy, and to explore small towns all over my region. I feel so lucky, so privileged to have been able to do this.
This experience has shown me a lot about myself that I didn’t know. I am fiercely independent and strong, where I may have thought I was dependent and needy before. I have traveled to cities alone, I have stepped out of my comfort zone in social situations, I have tried to communicate with people who do not speak my language. I have done my best to experience another culture in the best way possible. I have reflected every step of the way. I have laughed. I have smiled in the wind. I have seen countless gorgeous views like the very one I sit before now. I have seen the most famous fresco in the world. I have seen the David. I have climbed to the top of the island of Capri. I have tasted fresh limoncello from a lemon grove. I have eaten countless pastries. I have had gelato at least once a day and sometimes twice. I have consumed pounds of pasta. I have tried stinky cheeses, and various breads. I have hiked through the Tuscan countryside…
I have done so many things here in such a short amount of time, but above all, I have grown. Studying abroad has thrown me into a whole other world, and I am viciously soaking up everything around me like a sponge. I have gotten so much out of this experience in Italy. I am enjoying it, I am living it, I am experiencing everything around me as vividly and as loudly as possible. And for all of this, I am so thankful.
Amanda Campbell is a student at Arcadia University and is blogging from her summer abroad at the Umbra Institute in Perugia, Italy.