My STEP signature project was education abroad in Perugia, Italy. I studied Italian, the history of the Roman Empire, the food and culture of Italy and the European Union. I spent the semester exploring the Italian culture while also having the chance to visit other countries and explore even more cultures.

Throughout my study abroad, I noticed small changes in the way I saw myself and even some in the way I viewed American society. It was not until I returned home that I understood how much I had changed. When I got back, I saw that I was much more confident, and I also had a greater appreciation for how the Italians lived a much slower and thoughtful life than most Americans. In Italy, they take great care of themselves and their wellbeing. I saw a difference in the way I was choosing to live my life after coming back. I was more conscious of the types of food I ate, trying to mimic the fresh and healthy choices that became a habit in Italy. I was also more conscious of how our culture in Ohio is influenced by many different cultures from around the world. I had the opportunity to explore many countries outside of Italy while I was in Europe and I believe that getting to see so many different cultures and hear so many different languages helped me analyze my own culture.

Before beginning my project, I was nervous about leaving my friends and family for four months and move across the world. I had never taken Italian and never been to Europe. Once I arrived in Italy, it hit me that I was here, and I was also alone. I did not know anyone in my program and was nervous to meet people from so many different universities. After a couple of hours of moving in and meeting people, the nerves went away. The people I met were the one who helped me grow. There is something unique about being surrounded by people you don’t know and, in a place, in which everyone is unfamiliar. It gave me the opportunity to explore so many new things. Sometimes without even knowing about it, you can depend on your close friends to take care of little things like planning a dinner or helping you pick out an outfit. However, entering a place where you do not know anyone forces you to realize the things in your life that other people have always helped you with and pushes you to start taking care of those things yourself. Of course, you make plenty friends along the way, but with everyone trying to figure each other out it leaves a lot of room for personal growth.

This helped me gain more confidence when it came to doing things by myself and with making decisions on my own. Before my STEP project, I loved doing everything with friends; whether it was going to shopping or going to the library. I always liked having a familiar face that I could talk to. One day when we were going through orientation, our advisor was talking about solo travel, and I thought to myself I would never go to another place by myself. But then it hit me. I already had. I got on the plane to go to Italy without knowing a single person in my program. That was one of the first changes I noticed in myself. After that, I decided to plan a weekend where I would travel by myself. I looked at all the places I had wanted to go, and I chose to go to Switzerland, and it was one of the best weekends of my life. I booked my bus ticket and said goodbye to the friends I had made and was off. After spending 10 hours on the bus, I finally arrived in Switzerland. I had to walk to the hostel that I had booked. I was nervous since I was about to spend three days in another new country without anyone that I knew. I was determined to push myself to find people who I could persuade to climb Harder Kulm. I went to the lobby and saw a girl who was in my room, and I introduced myself. Next thing I know we are at the top of the mountain looking down at the beautiful city of Interlaken. The next day I woke up and went to the desk at the hostel to see what else there was to do. I saw a flyer for paragliding. Now running off the side of a mountain was never something that I thought I could do, but then I reminded myself of everything else that I thought I could not do that I had just done. I could travel to Switzerland for a weekend alone and have the time of my life meeting new people and climbing mountains and eating fondue. I pushed aside my fears and walked to the paragliding office. Shortly after I was floating above the earth and looking at all the beautiful scenery, I would have missed if I had not decided to do this. Putting myself in all these situations that made me uncomfortable helped me develop a sense of confidence that led me to understand that I can do more than I ever imagined. The more I pushed myself, the easier it was to believe in myself.

After living in a new country for four months, so many things led to personal growth. A huge part of Italian culture is their food and the traditional cooking methods. Before going to Italy, the only thing, I could cook were eggs and microwavable mac and cheese. I was nervous about having to start cooking for myself and in a new country. From the moment I stepped into the Perugia grocery store, I knew that this was going to be a challenge. The store was about an eighth of the size of the grocery store I had been used to back home. I walked down all two aisles and saw that they did not have my trusty microwavable meals. In fact, they had almost no frozen food at all. It was all fresh and locally sourced. In Italian culture, it is expected that you shop at the local butcher to get your meat, go to the farmers market to get the fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season. I stood there and wondered how long until I withered away into nothing. My thoughts were promptly interrupted by people trying to push past me in the tiny store. I left with a couple of apples, a bag of fresh pasta and a jar of red sauce. This would have to do for the night. When classes began, I was able to let out a sigh of relief. My professor, for the History and Cultures of Food in Italy, spent the entire class explaining some of the differences between American food culture and Italian food culture. She helped us navigate the grocery store and told us the best places to shop for other types of food. After learning about how much care and consideration goes into making food in Italy, I started to try and adapt to that style of cooking. I found myself spending much more time thinking about what I was going to have for each meal and if the tastes would complement each other. My friends and I began to cook dinner together every night. This is something that the Italians are known for doing as well. They have a large focus on spending your meal with people you enjoy and taking your time when eating so you can appreciate all the work that went into cooking the meal. Meals could last for hours, but it never felt like a waste of time. After returning home, I miss the days where I could spend time with my friends over a meal and get to talk and laugh. Now that I’m back in America the rushed pace of our culture is even more obvious. I still make an effort to take the time when at the grocery to choose food that is healthy even if it takes longer to make. I think there are pros and cons to every culture, but I do miss the dedication the Italians had to make time for a good meal with people you love. I think this is something that we have lost in America and I hope to bring it back the best I can.

I think after studying abroad I realized how much immersing yourself in a new culture can teach you about the world but also yourself. In a setting that is so different, you can see yourself in a new light. I think it is probably the most personal growth I have gone through such a short period. For my personal life, it has increased my interest in traveling in the future. I now have a desire to travel all over the world to learn about different cultures. I hope to one day again live in a new country because I think that is the best way to learn about the unspoken differences in cultures. I feel that I am lucky to have had the opportunity to get to study in another country. I think it added to my education in a way that many other students do not have. It allowed me to learn inside and outside the classroom even more than I would get at home. I think it also gave me the perspective of what it is like to be the outsider. I was lucky to have a great experience, but I can now see how difficult it is for people who may not know our language or culture. I have an appreciation for everyone who had patience with me when I tried to speak in Italian or messed up a cultural norm. I want to extend that same patience to people who are new to my culture and take the time to help them. As an aspiring doctor, I think this is important to keep in mind as our country becomes more and more diverse. I want to make sure that my patients feel welcome and that it’s okay if they don’t understand everything at first, and that I am willing to work with them so that they can get the care and help that they need.