Ciao! When I first arrived in
Castellanza, Italy I was a bit disappointed. I thought this little town that I
was going to be living in for the next four months would be vibrant and
bustling with people –almost city-like. Instead, it was a ghost town and with
hardly anyone around. To be fair, it was a Monday morning and most things in
Castellanza are closed on Monday mornings, as I would soon find out. I had
super high expectations because of the various movies I have watched that were
based in little Italian cities (I watched Eat Pray Love on my flight
over). After waiting for over an hour at the train station, me and two other
UNCG girls were finally picked up by a few members of the university’s erasmus “welcoming”
committee. Their cars were so small (much like the other cars in Castellanza,
except for the occasional Jeep or Range Rover), that we had to split up so that
we could fit ourselves and our multiple suitcases into the car.
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| Pisa, Italy: Barely nudging the tower of Pisa back up straight. |
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| Florence, Italy: Me in the busy streets of Florence in front of the Ponte Vecchio |
Throughout this journey I’ve tried to be
super transparent with how I’ve been feeling and what I’ve been experiencing
here, good and bad. I’m not going to lie, the first couple of weeks of being in
Castellanza were hard. We were told that we had to get a Residence Permit in order
to travel throughout the EU, so the first few weeks after orientation were
spent tracking down papers to send our Residence Permit application in. Getting
our residence permit and fiscal code was the most trying experience I’ve had
since being here. The directions for what to do and how to do it were so
vaguely described that it really tested my patience and desire for being here
in Italy. One thing that I definitely miss about UNCG is the set class
schedules. When we arrived, during orientation week, we had to sign up for
classes that we wanted to take. LIUC’s class system is all over the place with
some vital classes having time conflicts. It’s a super frustrating process,
much like most things in Italy, but luckily it all worked out in the end.
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| Castellanza, Italy: My school an old cotton mill. In an odd way, it's pretty cool. When there's sun in Castellanza, it's a huge deal (for me at least). This is a picture taken from the residence hall's outside passageway. |
Fast forward a few weeks and I’m finally
adjusted to the Italian way of life… although some things still surprise me. I
would say the first month was definitely the hardest. While I still have
moments of homesickness here and there, it’s not as bad as in the beginning and
I think it has to do with the traveling I have done recently. Since being
abroad, I have gone to: Milan, Italy; Florence, Italy; Pisa, Italy; Trento,
Italy; Barcelona, Spain and Paris, France. Each place I have gone to has
obviously been different, but they have helped take my mind off of missing
home. I’ve tried a few things for the first time since being here too, like
skiing on the Swiss Alps in Trento, seeing the tower of Pisa, standing under
the Eiffel Tower and staying in a hostel (which has actually been a pleasant
experience! I highly recommend the St. Christopher’s hostel chain). My favorite
place that I have visited thus far has been Paris, of course. Before even going
to Paris many people said that it’s overrated but I loved every bit of the
short weekend we were there for. We finally met some Americans, I saw a friend
from high school and we even ran into a fellow Spartan. My favorite part about
Paris was the diverse Gare Du Nord neighborhood we stayed in and the grounds
around The Lourve museum. And of course, you can’t forget the croissants and
macarons! Paris was such a great place to visit for one of my last trips and I
can’t wait to get back.
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| Trento, Italy: Me skiing in Trento for the FIRST time ever! Had a blast, shed tears, laughed way too much. |
Before I conclude this post, if you’re
like me and have been feeling a little homesick and experiencing culture shock,
below are a few tricks that have helped me get through it:
1. Say Yes Often Saying “yes”
forces me to get out and interact with people. Sometimes I do say “no” because
I just need that alone time. But more often than not, I agree to go out
and socialize with the other erasmus students. It helps me get out of my
comfort zone and I get to know the others a little better than I did before.
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| Barcelona, Spain: Palm trees and blue skies in Barcelona! We were there for a whopping 9 days for Spring Break. |
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| Barcelona, Spain: La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. The most beautiful cathedral I've ever seen. Besides the Duomo in Milan. |
2. Talk About Your Problems Actually
tell people what you’re going through. Most people will not understand, but sometimes
it helps just getting your frustrations and emotions out. It’s okay to
cry, too. I spoke to my roommate about my homesickness and now she
understands why I may act the way I do in some situations. We now have this
mutual understanding, where at first I thought I was only going through this
phase alone.
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| Paris, France: Being goofy in front of the Louvre Museum. |
3. It’s Okay To Be Alone It’s also okay to be alone
sometimes too (see #1). You have to let go of that FOMO and make time for
yourself. It’s okay to miss out on a night out, and I promise you, having time
to yourself will help you stay sane. It can be overwhelming to say “yes” and
go to every single event. Having that designated alone time is necessary.
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| Milan, Italy: The Duomo of Milan during Carnival. |
4. Communicate With People At
Home A lot of people say that you shouldn’t communicate
with people at home because it can make you more homesick, but I disagree.
Sometimes when I talk to my friends or family about what’s going on at home or
at school, I instantly feel better afterwards. Just having those few minutes of
catching up with them is all I need to feel better and motivated. They’re the
only ones who fully get me, so talking to them is refreshing.
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| Paris, France: Three Americans and one Scot in Paris in front of the Eiffel Tower! |
So that's it! Hopefully this post
wasn’t fully depressing. I’m having a wonderful time in Italy, it just took me
a few weeks to adjust and settle in. Me and Alphonso (my dragon) sign off for
now. Arrivederci!
Rania Bolton
Universita Carlo Cattaneo (LIUC)
Castellanza, Italy
