I have wanted to study abroad since I was an eighth grader in geography, a high schooler in world history and then a college student who had the opportunity to make it happen. I had this picture in my mind of what it would look like: the country I would go to, the people I would meet, the stories I would come back with and the life experience I would gain.

One month into my study abroad semester in Rome, Italy, my expectations did not become my reality, and I am glad for it.

In my three and a bit weeks in Rome, I have explored the city by doing the expected: I went to Vatican City and walked the halls of the museums, stared up at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, stood beneath Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” and roamed around St. Peter’s Basilica. I visited the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain, ate tons of pasta and pizza, drank delicious coffee and ate even better pastries. All of these things were almost exactly as I pictured them, but it’s the hard, unexpected things I have learned the most from, like walking the streets and braving Italian cafes.

Firstly, I didn’t think much about coming to a non-English speaking country without knowing the native language, as I had friends who had done it before me and been fine. I expected a moderate amount of difficulty and knew I needed to be patient with myself and respect the locals, the Italian language and the culture. But I didn’t account for the separation that comes from not understanding the people talking on the street or the person sitting next to you at the coffee shop.

That was an entirely unexpected piece of culture shock. Similarly, learning how to navigate those incredible cafes and asking myself the same questions: do I order and then pay? Pay and then go to the bar? Am I allowed to sit down? What about studying here? The answer is: you never know.

These two things rubbed the shine off my mental picture of studying abroad. Still, they have also keyed me into the true traveling and study abroad mentality, for which I am incredibly grateful. I’m forced out of my comfort zone daily. Not knowing Italian from the get-go has pushed me to learn phrases and words as I go along (although I still have a ways to go). Figuring out the flow of a small Italian cafe or a grocery store means asking people questions that may seem inconsequential but will impact my entire experience in that location.

These things have taught me to be patient with myself and not to take myself so seriously, two wonderful life lessons. So, while they are some parts of studying abroad that take constant effort and are admittedly difficult, they have made me genuinely appreciate Rome and the way locals and students alike flow through it. Further, they make me thankful for this opportunity.

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: John Cabot University