I had never been exposed to so many different people of so many different national identities. For the first time in my whole life, I had been the only American in the room. While that may sound daunting, I was grateful for it. I was finally beginning to feel like I was a part of Florence. I went to school in the city, I worked in the city, and, now, I was intimately interacting with individuals who lived here and would continue to long after I had gone back home to California. My first week was rocky, I’ll be the first to admit it. I became conscious of all of my Americanized habits I didn’t even know I had until then. I spoke too loud or too much- almost always in complete English. I was reluctant to leave for lunch even when I was being ushered out for an afternoon break. The space and the people who worked within it are what made my study abroad experience truly meaningful. I felt like I actually lived in the city instead of just vacationing there.
I had never been exposed to so many people from different national identities, and for the first time in my life, I was the only American in the room. My first week was rocky, I'll be the first to admit it. I became conscious of the American habits I didn't even know I had. I spoke too loud or too much, and almost always in English. I was reluctant to leave for lunch until I was ushered out for afternoon break! The space and people I worked with made my study abroad experience truly meaningful. I feel LIke I lived in Florence instead of just traveling there.