Ripasso finale: l'esperienza

Now that I finally have some open time (fall break woo!) I'm finishing off this blog.  Four months after the fact, this is the last post.  All my UniBo credit finally got accepted by Cornell, so I guess that's as good a reason as any to bring this to a close.

Let's declare this right now: my cinque mesi bolognesi were the best time of my life thus far.  I've reviewed the previous chapters of my autobiography and nothing compares.  Looking back on the period, the sheer density of awesome stuff I learned, did, and experienced still bowls me over.  I became a travel nut like I didn't know I was before I left, and one of the saddest parts of cultural readjustment was realizing I could no longer just hop on a train to access dozens of fascinating cities any given weekend.  Every interpersonal transaction was a lesson in some way, teaching cultural and linguistic lessons I'm still reviewing.  Then of course there were the totally crazy days that just happened, like Seville and my birthday.  I lived five months of my life where nearly everything was interesting, all the time.  Do you want to feel three years old again, but without the dependency and poor hygiene?  Go abroad.

I know I'm not alone in this.  One of the greatest parts of my program was the group of students I was with.  For whatever reason we stayed really tight-knit, moreso than the full-years, and while I certainly had particular close pals we were all friends.  Anyone could invite anyone else to travel and it wouldn't have been odd: review my photos, and try to find some consistency in who I travel with.  There's hardly any.  We all stay in touch on Facebook, and I can tell everyone was influenced by the trip whenever they post a status in Italian, reminding us all that they're still thinking about BO.  Caroline and I do trivia nights at an Ithaca bar with some of her friends, and we spend basically the whole time boring them with Italy stories they've already heard.

For posterity: one of the greatest tics of our program group was "BCSP-Italian," the Italian-English mixture we spoke, and still do amongst our communications.  Examples:

"Just a po' " = "Just a little." , from Italian "Un po'", "a little"
"Andams to manjams" = "Let's go eat.", from Italian "Andiamo e mangiamo." (this one is gaining traction in my house in Ithaca!)
"Ciao rags." = "Goodbye guys.", from Italian "Ciao ragazzi."

I work for Cornell Study Abroad student outreach now, a job I had been hoping to do since before I knew they paid for it.  I'm encouraging as many people as possible to go abroad, particularly Italian students, and to participate in language-immersion programs.  My academic focus in my government major had always been on American stuff, but after this semester and a course on Europe I'm taking now I'm seriously considering international fields.  If you get the chance to go abroad, do it.  Do it.  I'm not giving you a choice.  It's the right decision.  One of the craziest things about Italy was that it didn't disappoint.  It's as wonderful and beautiful as it's hyped up to be. Literature and  brooding about the Italian countryside, culture, and way of life aren't exaggerating.  Study abroad experiences are the glorious things that professors tell you they are. See for yourself, please, that these are real, accessible places.

If you walk, boat, plane, and train far enough, you can actually see these things.

The snapshots here are little things an amateur traveler took when he noticed them, not professional, edited images.  This is how it is, for real.

This stuff actually exists, I promise!

And it's not just Italy!  Italy's tiny.  It's a corner of a continent that's a part of a whole planet of stuff like this.  Go somewhere, if you can!

Thanks to everyone at BCSP, Professor Ricci and Danielle especially.  You guys are ace at your jobs, always incredibly helpful and friendly, and I'm sure the fall crew is doing great.  Thanks to my parents and grandparents for funding my voyages.  And thanks to everyone for reading and your comments!

Ciao!