I extend my deepest thanks to all of you for awarding me the Chris Borton Memorial Scholarship for the 2023-2024 year. I recently finished my UCEAP program at the University of Bologna, Italy and am staying in Bologna until the end of August. I can confidently say that my experience here was better than I could ever have imagined. My time in Bologna has profoundly changed me and molded me into a more worldly and outgoing person. It is hard to believe that almost eleven months have passed since I first arrived here, ecstatic to commence my journey but with a stomach full of butterflies. When I landed at the Bologna Guglielmo Marconi airport, I was immediately greeted by a gigantic sign lettered with “Benvenuti!” in bold black font. It was both thrilling and comforting to see Italian written all over the walls and signs everywhere I turned. As I stood waiting to collect my two giant suitcases, it finally hit me how lucky I was to be living in a new country for a whole year.
My biggest goal for my year in Bologna was to feel like a “real” Italian by the time my program ended. I now realize that this goal was both unrealistic and futile. I don’t think I’ll ever feel “Italian enough” and I am at peace with this because my objective has evolved into something more personal. I originally pictured that all Italians would fit the hand-waving, animated stereotype. However, after living here, now I am aware that Italians come in every shape, shade, and variety. Bologna has a vibrant and ever-expanding immigrant community that I’ve been able to observe and join over these months. When I first arrived, I felt I stuck out like a sore thumb with my American accent and lack of fashion sense, but now I don’t feel the need anymore to pretend to be someone, or something, that I simply am not. Italians know I’m not from Italy and that is perfectly fine. Oftentimes they are intrigued and want to learn more about where I am from, and we are able to learn from each other's experiences and cultures. This has led to many beautiful friendships and language exchanges with Bolognese students. I met one Italian friend, Chiara, while having a coffee at Freud’s Bar in Piazza Verdi in the middle of February. She heard me speaking English with some UC friends and asked to join us so that she could practice her English. More than four months later, we meet for coffee every week and spend thirty minutes speaking in English and the other speaking in Italian.
One of my biggest culture shocks in Bologna was how greatly the Italian university system differs from that in the United States. Each course on average was held for six hours per week and we weren’t assigned any homework. The only assignment for the entire semester was an oral exam, which was an entirely new concept for me. It took me the whole fall semester to grasp this new system of exams and it was difficult to figure out how to pace my study sessions. In the end, I really enjoyed taking oral exams because it was a great way to practice organizing my thoughts out loud and speaking Italian in a formal manner. All of my professors were incredibly patient and kind with me, knowing that Italian was my second language. I liked all my courses and learned a lot about Italian history, culture, and art. My favorite classes were Storia dell’alimentazione (History of Food Habits), Sociologia delle migrazioni (Sociology of Migrations) and Technice del mosaico (Introduction to Mosaics). I hope to find a mosaics course in Santa Barbara so I can continue improving my art skills.
I continue to be a strong proponent of studying abroad for a full-year, and staying in the summer after your program if you are able to. Each additional day I stay here, the more at home I feel. Each conversation I have in Italian, the more confident I feel that I am able to joke in my second language. Each new park I walk through becomes my new favorite place and a pin on my Google Maps app. The opportunity to be here for the year allowed me to set roots down and form a vibrant local community.
One of the most fulfilling parts of my study abroad experience was babysitting for local Bolognese families. Across the span of ten months I have babysit for five different families with children ranging from ages five to twelve, working around ten hours a week. This opportunity provided me with a rare and intimate look into what being a part of an Italian family is like and I feel like a big sister to Agata, Ada, Pietro, Edoardo, Olivia, Lea, Lorenzo, and Cecilia. After months of getting close to each family and child, they have invited me to eat home-cooked meals in their homes and join them for vacations. This was key to Bologna becoming my new home and a place where I feel like I truly belong. Each family lived in a different part of Bologna so I was able to explore the city’s diverse neighborhoods as well.
Many people have asked me what I plan on doing after I graduate from the University of California, Santa Barbara in June 2025. I would like to return to Italy to either pursue a Master’s degree or work full-time. It has been a long-time dream of mine to be an elementary school teacher and I have considered working at the International School of Bologna or being an au-pair for a Bolognese family. Getting a taste of living abroad and being able to visit so many new countries has solidified my desire to try living in multiple different environments and continuing to push myself out of my comfort zone.
I am sad to leave Bologna but excited to return home and finish my senior year at UCSB. Bologna will always be one of my homes and hold a very special place in my heart.