My study abroad experience: Home is where the heart is

My TikTok algorithm has recently discovered that I’m studying abroad in Florence. Sandwiched in between baseball highlights and videos of Lady Gaga’s recent Coachella performances, I have begun to see video after video of students sobbing at the airport because their study abroad semester has come to an end, reminiscing on the best time of their life.

As I have come to adore Florence, I still scratch my head at these. Studying abroad has not been the best time of my life. It has been far from it. 

Did I grow as a person? Yes! Did I learn so many things about myself and the world? Also yes. Was it an absolutely invaluable experience regardless of net happiness? Of course! 

But the one thing I believe I have learned about myself throughout this past semester is that I am irredeemably American. 

In the wee hours of the morning on Feb. 10 around 4:30 a.m., I was excitedly watching the Philadelphia Eagles raise the Lombardi Trophy as teal and black confetti rained down upon them after trouncing the Kansas City Chiefs. I had spent approximately six hours in that bar on a Sunday night, with my attention solely dedicated to the Super Bowl playing across about 10 screens in Lion’s Fountain, Florence’s obnoxiously American Irish Pub. 

Weeks later I stayed awake from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. watching the Oscars from the floor of my shared room in my apartment. Twice I stayed up until 3 a.m. watching March Madness, and using the Wisconsin VPN to connect to my home radio station felt genuinely life-saving. 

I do my best to connect to Florence, its culture and language that I am immersing myself in, but I also find myself unwilling to compromise on the creature comforts that life in the United States affords me: my family, my friends, drying my clothes, Trader Joe’s and the ethnic and cultural diversity that makes the U.S. so great. 

Despite this, I know I will miss my walks past the beautiful Santa Croce Cathedral and the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo each morning, the abundance of museums and art in the city and my dear Conad fresh-squeezed orange juice. 

With that said, studying abroad has been just as life-changing as everyone seems to say. I’ve checked experiences like paragliding and places like Rome off of bucket lists I’ve been curating for years, I’ve explored new cities entirely on my own and most importantly, I’ve discovered that I can survive in a new country with a new culture and language. 

While the keyword there is survive and not thrive, it has prepared me for post-graduate life, specifically moving to a new, unknown place, in a completely unique way and allowed me to try so many new things I never would have tried otherwise. 

But after three and a half months, I can't help but feel exhausted. Europe is beautiful, historical and new, but I miss my home. 

Tomorrow when I open social media, I’ll be greeted by a barrage of posts of people saying they left their hearts in Europe. For me, I’m on my way home to recover mine. 

---