There's No Place Like Home (The End of My Study Abroad Experience)

Hello!

The time has come for me to finally write my final study abroad post. While I did in fact get home a month ago, everything has been crazy while I adjust and visit with friends and family that I missed. In this blog post, I want to reflect on how I think my study abroad journey impacted me and overall how it has been coming back to the US. I also wanted to briefly reflect on my end of semester trips I didn't talk about!

The first thing that study abroad made me realize is how much I love to travel! Since getting back, I did go on family vacation, but I have been definitely missing weekend trips to different cities and countries. From Vienna and Budapest to the Amalfi Coast and even Greece my last weekend, I had so many unique and special experiences that I will never forget. It definitely made me appreciate the world a lot more after seeing more of it! One habit that has stuck with me surprisingly is keeping my phone in the front pocket of my jeans! It's funny to think when I first got to Italy I had to actively think about it, and now it's like second nature.

I know I definitely didn't update all of you on all my trips towards the end of studying abroad, but they were all amazing. We went to Nice, France, which was beautiful and Santorini, Greece, which is the most amazing place I think I have ever been. It was definitely a bucket list trip for me and I highly recommend you try to go if you have the chance! I will for sure be going back to explore many of the other Greek islands.

After I got back from Greece, I had three days before I had to pack my stuff up and move home. After 3 suitcases, 2 flights, and 1 layover later, I was back in America! Upon landing it was very exciting to be home. I got to see all my family and friends and was definitely cured of the homesickness I was experiencing abroad. While I will definitely miss traveling and experiencing new parts of Italian culture everyday, there is no place like home. Adjusting back to US life was easier than I thought it would be. Besides biting my tongue to not say "Ciao!" at the grocery store and getting used to driving again, everything felt very normal, almost like I had been in a dream for the last 4 months.

This concludes my experience and my study abroad blog. It truly was the most amazing experience and I encourage every one of you to study abroad for some period of time if you can. I know it can be intimidating and scary to begin with, but in the end it will all be worth it. Best of luck to everyone, and ciao for now!

Olivia