Endgame
My initial excitement upon being selected for the Dialogue program was soon met by intrepidation. Who were these people I was going to be spending the next month of my life with in a foreign country? So I did what any normal person would: I tried to find them on Facebook. I succeeded, and, much to my dismay, found that we had absolutely no mutual friends, and nothing in common. This was a dilemma, as I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to make friends with a group of people, not only vastly different from me, but vastly different from EACH OTHER. Luckily, my fears were totally misguided. After a few short days I realized that, even though these people didn’t have much in common with my usual friends and I, they were still really amazing and very friendly people. I couldn’t have hoped to be on the trip with a better group of people.
Personally, I think I’ve grown in ways I never knew possible. Not only do I feel much more in tune with what is going on in other countries in the world, but also has given me vastly more perspective on what is going on in my own country too. I felt much freer during my time in Italy than I ever have living in America. In addition, I also discovered that I am a much more outgoing person than I thought. I was originally concerned that my natural introversion combined with being unfamiliar with the language would ensure that I would keep to myself the whole trip. This wasn’t true. Honestly, I had an easier time meeting new people in Italy than I do in America. I don’t know if it’s the generally more-friendly attitude of people in Italy, or the fact that being in an unfamiliar setting actually relieved me of some of my inhibitions, but either way it was a pleasant discovery.
This trip really changed what I want out of my life. I had gone into the trip with the general mindset, “I’ll go abroad this one time and then focus on my long-term goals as an engineer.” But now travelling abroad more has become one of my most-important long term goals. Travelling has truly opened my eyes to exactly how much of the world I still need to see. This incredible eye-opening is probably the single greatest benefit I’ve received by going abroad. This kind of experience is something everyone needs to do, I just didn’t know it beforehand.
My favorite experience was, without a doubt, the three days we spent in Venezia. There’s no city like it anywhere else in the world. The way the people get around on boats, the cobblestone roads, the general architecture of the whole city was all phenomenal and so surreal. I’ve always dreamed of living my life on the water, and Venice showed me just how fantastic a life it would be. In particular I really enjoyed the modern art galleries I stumbled into while I was there. I can’t go into too much detail because of the graphic nature of what was on display, but it was a totally unexpected delight to be so taken aback by what I saw there.
To any future participants, I have but a few words of advice: you are only there for a month. I know at first, a month seems like a long time, but it’s not. Don’t waste a single second. Don’t go to your room until your eyes absolutely cannot stay open any longer. Go out, and see everything. When in Italy, be in Italy. Don’t waste a single precious second, because they don’t come back.
I would absolute study abroad. I don’t even need to think about it. There are so many places I’d like to go now. Do I want to take it easy this time and go some place where English is the first language like England or Ireland? Or do I want to challenge myself and to a place where I don’t know the language very well again, like Japan? There are honestly so many options, and I am definitely going to thoroughly research what is available to me.
