5 Things I Want To Accomplish in Italy

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

1. Take the path less traveled (both literally and figuratively).

Make the study abroad experience your own. Don't just do what everyone else does -- tailor it to what you want out of it. Group activities are great, but you have a limited amount of time. Having some degree of vision of why you are here will help direct your choices and how you spend your time. Make wise decisions. Don't be afraid to travel solo. Visit the neighboring smaller towns, and focus on traveling locally to really know Italy.

2. Get involved in the community. Meet the locals.

I didn't anticipate the amount of effort it would take to break out of the "study abroad bubble" -- the comfort zone that has formed with all the other American students. It's easier to want to adjust and find a routine, as well as being around people that speak English, than those who are different from you in culture, lifestyle, and background. Volunteer. Join a choir. Spend more time with your home stay. Go to the local flea market and talk to people. Accidentally go to a church service in Italian. You'll be surprised at all that you learn.

3. Push myself to learn as much Italian as possible.

Especially in Florence, you probably could get by without speaking any more Italian than "ciao" (I only wish I was kidding). It isn't because Italians speak fluent English -- although some do -- but more of the fact that it's easier for us not to try and learn. It's going to take practice and brainpower, and you have to make a conscious effort to speak it. But do so, and you'll be rewarded with appreciative Italians and a better knack for learning new phrases. It also will better enable you to do #1, 2, and 4 on this list.

4. Continue to try new things. Be more outgoing.

Take different routes to school. Discover a new cafe. Go to the chocolate festival on the other side of town. It's natural to want to find a routine, but getting too comfortable will defeat the purpose of studying abroad. Whether it's braving the bus system without knowing what stop you're getting off at, or trying a gelato flavor that sounds atrocious (pistachio, anyone?), you're abroad to try new things. Don't let fear stop you.

5. “Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses – especially learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.” - Leonardo Da Vinci

I spent a pretty insane amount of time in undergrad studying science -- virology, anatomy, microbiology, chemistry, etc. All my jobs were science-related: nursing, teaching health/biology, tutoring chemistry, working in a chemistry lab. I've only taken 4 liberal arts courses: a religion class taught by a Jewish rabbi, a drawing class (from when I thought I would also major in studio art), an English class, and a regional studies on Africa course.

But now I'm here in Italy to play catch up as an artist to match my science-oriented brain. I know about the individuals that dedicated their lives to deciphering DNA, but what about those that spent 27 years on a set of bronze doors for a city? (Lorenzo Ghiberti)
Human abilities and talents vary immensely, and we need to study both the sciences and arts to better understand the world we live in. Florence has a unique history with both foundations.

A fascinating example would be the Black Plague. Many believe it delayed the start of the Renaissance -- which probably would have started in the 1300s with Giotto (the most influential artist at the time, breaking away from the mold and depicting reality more than idealism). But it didn't because of the plague, thus wiping out the population and putting a halt to art development.

Or when painting, how to use colors with our perception of light. The science in colors (black absorbs, how our brain interprets via the rods/cones of the retina) determine how to apply the theory in painting.
It's all related -- you just have to look for it!

Here's to a semester of artistic and scientific insight with some Italian in the middle. I'm looking forward to sharing experiences of the above accomplishments in future posts!

Why Learn a Language? & Resources

Here are the most important reasons (in my opinion) that motivate me to learn another language:

Study abroad & travel - The more Italian I know, the better I can 'get by'. i.e. ordering food, asking for directions, finding my way around, and even more so, having interesting conversations with people! Language will deepen your understanding and assimilation into another culture.

Challenging myself - As I mentioned before in my Global Scholars post, I took classes in Spanish and German for 4 years (2 years per language). Much of it, however, was the book learning: grammar, writing, reading. I always felt that conversational speaking was my weakest point. No kidding, when everyone else in the class is speaking English… It'll be fun to see a different approach - the speaking before the book learning!

Other tidbits - Apparently learning a second language keeps your mind healthy, in terms of preventing the onset of dementia. I'm not sure if this is scientifically proven, but it's still a great thing to try your brain with.

Here's a list of helpful resources for the beginner -- those of you in the same boat as me, without any background in Italian.

*Italian General Practice 
This link has a plethora of sites that are great for starting out. Basic phrases, vocabulary, and alphabet pronunciations. I like how there's different angles provided: Italian literature, radio stations, verbs. There's something here for every learner.

*Italian Tutorials Index
This one in particular seems great - it's structured into advancing lessons, beginning with basic phrases about weather and days of the year, and progresses into possessive pronouns and phrases used in a hotel or bank.

*Everything Italian
Such a cute, fun site! Everything Italian can be found here: maps, geography, travel tips, grammar aids, recipes, and games for learning Italian. Who doesn't like games?? Learning a language isn't simply about memorization, but immersing yourself in all things Italian can help you pick it up faster than you would staring into a dictionary.

Becoming an Italy fanatic

I can't even begin to describe the last few days.

I morphed from a detached student who still hasn't truly realized that she's going abroad to another country for a semester, to a complete Italy fanatic who can't stop for a moment thinking about Florence and Italy and traveling.
(I only wish I was kidding. To put it in perspective, by day 3 of this obsession, my brother says to me, "Can we go one day without hearing about Italy? I'm getting tired of hearing about it." Yes, he's a teenager whose immature mind can't help but have such horrendous thoughts, but seriously. I haven't even gone there yet!)

It started with casual research on the Internet.
Then it went to the next level -- the library.



Then the dreams came. Good dreams, really. I would wake up feeling nostalgic and announced to my parents yesterday morning -- "I'm so excited!! I don't how I'm going to be able to leave! Maybe I'll come back to live in Florence or do my clinical rotations here… "

Just from all this planning, I feel like I know Italy so much better. I feel ready, more prepared, and independent. I began to start self-learning Italian with a whiteboard and the bilingual dictionary you see in the photo. I taught myself endings, gender associations, pronouns, conjugations. And I finally went back to the Duolingo app. [If you don't know what that is, you must try it!! It's so interactive and fun - you speak, you listen, you spell, you translate.]

As a result of my friend recommending that app, this is what my phone screen looks like now.

Huntington (money is key to going to Italy), CASPA (my grad school application), Blogger for this, Dreamdays counts down how many days left till Italy. Did you notice the background? Pretty sure that's Venice. :)

If you wanted a picture of my brain right now, this post sums it up. 

How proficient do I feel? Not very proficient. But I can recognize words, speak Italian to myself and my phone, and have basic phrases down. :)))

I also have most of my packing figured out -- it is EPIC. Pinterest-worthy. Beautiful. Minimalistic. And just downright genius. To give you an idea, my suitcase comes up to my knees.

I can't wait to share - might even do a video.

19 Days Left.