Ciao! When I landed in Venice, Italy I was more excited than nervous. I knew it would be difficult with the language barrier but I learned generic phrases and knew I would eventually figure it all out and everything would be okay. When I first arrived our entire study abroad group did a big tour around the entire city. We did this the first day to make sure to stay up until night time to get over jetlag the best way possible. My favorite city we traveled to over the course of a month was Florence. The history, architecture, and food were all incredible. My favorite experience of Florence was climbing to the top of Duomo di Florenza and being in the heart of the city with a spectacular view. It is interesting taking a class while studying abroad in the summer because it is easy to check out and forget about your studies. I had to have discipline with myself and make sure to get all my reading and homework done before I was able to go out and explore. Other than the organized tours and cities we were traveling to, a couple friends and I took a day trip to Tuscany on one of our free days. It was so peaceful and beautiful to see miles of vineyards. Overall, I had a really great experience with the local people of Italy. Everyone is very understanding with the language barrier and helpful when I was ever lost. When I leave Italy, I will miss smelling the fresh ocean on the coast of Sicily, I will miss eating yummy gelato, I will miss seeing the entire city of Florence from the top of the cathedral, and I will miss the feeling of independence and freedom. This has been the most incredible experience but all great things must eventually come to an end. In the next two days, I will be flying back home to the United States. I will miss Italy so much but I am also excited to see my family and update them on my summer adventure. I think I have grown tremendously from the time I arrived. I feel like I can take on difficult situations now without becoming overly stressed and feel a new kind of self-reliance that I lacked before I arrived. I recommend studying abroad to any student I meet.