Reflecting on my term in Italy
Soon, I will be leaving Italy and Forli, which is where I have spent the first term of my year abroad studying, and living. I thought that now would be a great time to start reflecting on my time in Italy, even though it has not been the best experience of my life. I found an article on the website Third Year Abroad about different ways to use my blog to reflect on my time in Italy, and this is the first way I am going to try.
I have put together and A to Z list of my time in Forli, and Italy in general.
A – Apartamento 18. The number of my apartment in Forli
B – Bologna, the University of Bologna (the University I’m studying at), Bologna Airport and just Bologna because it’s the nearest main city to Forli
C – Conad, my favourite supermarket
D – Destination. My first year abroad destination is Italy
E – Erasmus. The Erasmus experience, the Erasmus grant…
F – Forli. Where I have lived and studied for 3 months
G – Grazie. The Italian for ‘thank you’
H – Hotel Internazionale. The hotel in Bologna where I stayed with my Mum when she came to visit me in Italy for the week-end
I – Italian.. The language I’ve tried to improve and the Italian experience & way of life
J – “Just keep going”, the phrase I said to myself a lot when things got tough
K – Keeping calm. The best thing to do when things get stressful. Take a deep breath and keep calm
L – La Vita Come’e, one of my favourite Italian songs, by Max Gazze
M – Missing home, which I did quite a lot
N – Never again. There are some things which I would never do again, such as living in Forli, going to certain places
O – Opposite apartment. The apartment opposite the apartment I live in is where the landlord’s parents live and they helped us a lot…
P – Pesaro. A place I travelled to on the coast in November. Also P for pizza and pasta…
Q – Queue… Something the Italians don’t do
R – Rimini… One of the first places I travelled to
S – Studying. It’s harder in Italy and definitely different to the UK
T – Translations. Lots of translations
U – UK. My home country which I have grown to appreciate more
V – VENICE. I went to Venice when my Mum came to visit me and it was lovely
W – Waiter, the waiter in Hotel Internazionale who gave me and my Mum free food each night
X – EXciting opportunity… I know, it’s not very original…
Y – YES…
Z – Zzz… How I feel after a tiring day at University or travelling! Ha ha ha ha