Testing, testing, 1-2-3.

Alright, so this is an experiment. Will I continue to update this blog? Well, we'll find out.


The whole idea of this blog is to share my experiences of traveling and studying abroad. I will be studying everything Roman (well kind of--art, architecture, etc) for ~ 5 months in Rome. Prior to this, I will travel for a month with my family to London, Paris, the Alps (to ski), Cinque Terre (I think we are staying in Monterosso), Firenze, Venècia, and end in Roma. After my studies end in early May, I will travel all over Europe with my good friend (CORRECTION: Emily was upset that I only called her my good friend instead of my best friend, so now, just pretend that it reads "with my bestee testee Emily") Emily for a month and a half. Hopefully we'll run into some other friends along the way (this means you, Will!).

I've been to Rome once before, for about a week. I fell in love with the city then, but put it out of my mind for a couple of years. Then I took Hendrick's classics course on ancient Rome at UCSC and had this huge urge to go back. I was learning about these interesting and amazing things and just wanted to see them in person again. That's what drew me to this program. One day in class, I will be learning about something, for example the pantheon or the forum. And the next time the class meets, it'll be for a field trip at these places.

These classes won't benefit me in the slightest, none of my credits will go to my major. But really, I just like to learn and this seems like an amazing educational opportunity. I'm a bit nervous though, because the classes are supposed to be quite hard. And in all honesty, I know next to nothing about Roman art.

Before even getting there, I know I'm gonna fall in love with Rome and not want to leave. I'm not looking forward to culture shock, but I'm so ready to get out of Santa Cruz. I've never lived outside of California. I'm ready for something new. I'm terrified, but I'm ready. I have so many goals for this experience. I want it to help me grow, become more independent, more self-assured, I want to learn a new language, become friends with Italians (as well as make some new friends in the UC system), learn now to cook better, and learn about the Italian culture. I want this experience to be the beginning of my life as a world traveler. I'm afraid I won't have enough money to ever travel as extensively as I'd like to, but there are some many places I want to go, and so many things I want to do. I hope this will give me the confidence to follow my travel dreams. I need to prove to myself that I can live somewhere else. I need to prove to myself that I don't need a crutch. I need to stop relying so heavily on my family for support, I need to find strength in myself. And since I'm going to be so far away, I think the independence I long for will be achievable. It will be interesting reading this in 8 months from now and seeing how much I do change.

Anyways, I leave on my flight to London on the 18th of December. That's a week away. I'm freaking out. I'm so excited and nervous and scared all at the same time. Well, hopefully this all will be the amazing adventure I long for it to be.

Sarah