Upon my study abroad journey in Rome, the culture shock was the first thing to take me a bit by surprise. For instance, how “ciao” means both hello and goodbye, how people order a shot of espresso at coffee shops and quickly take it right there instead of sipping on it while reading a newspaper, and how it’s normal to eat dinner around 9/10:00 at night. Although there were significant differences between Italian culture and the culture in Michigan, I also noticed many similarities. Some examples of these similarities are the desire to get to know and interact with foreigners on both ends, mutual love for Italian pizza, and how it’s necessary to take afternoon naps, or “siestas.”

The first day of classes, I was a bit overwhelmed and nervous since I knew the Marketing and Italian classes would be difficult and since I didn’t know how I would really fit in due to me being a foreigner to them. To my surprise, instead of being intimidated by the local students and teachers, I quickly began interacting with them inside and outside of the classroom. This really helped me achieve my academic and personal goals because as in addition to discussing marketing and advertising topics with classmates (through group projects and class discussions), I was also getting to know them on a personal level and how living in Italy affects their perspectives on these academic subjects. This makes me wonder what people in all parts of the world think about the things that were talked about in class and how their culture influences their perspectives as well. In addition, taking an Italian course really helped me communicate with Italians. Although I wasn’t able to have long and elaborate conversations, I could get by with basic words and phrases, which I thought was extremely beneficial and fun to do.

Before going to Rome, my number one goal was to step out of my comfort zone and truly know what it means to be fully immersed in another culture. I wanted to return to the United States even more curious about the world than I was before going to Europe. By studying abroad, my goals were successfully reached both personally and academically. Meeting people in Europe and acknowledging our similarities and differences inspired me to want to understand people and places in all parts of the world, not just the two continents that I’ve been on so far. I can now compare future experiences to my past experiences in the United States as well as Europe. Studying abroad truly did further shape the person that I am now. I am much more confident to do things on my own, embrace what would normally scare me a bit, and be willing to put myself in new situations to grow even more as a person.

Name: Kierstyn Cheladyn
Status: Junior
Major: Advertising Management
Hometown: Brighton, Michigan
Program: John Cabot University in Rome, Italy