Submitted by John Cusatis on the 2024 Winter program in Italy…
During the first week of this Italy trip, I’ve made many meaningful connections and memories. The trip started out with some setbacks, but looking back it truly connected our group. The first flight was 6 hours, but the second flight was missed due to delays with the first flight and issues with security. We ended up being stuck in the Heathrow airport for a total of 10 hours, which made that day the longest travel day in my life, and to put in perspective I’ve had too many travel days in the past to recall. Once arriving in Italy my number one desire was to eat a lot of food, partly because of FOMO but also because I consider myself a foodie. Every meal I have mysteriously ends up on my Instagram story, no matter the type or appearances.
We ended up exploring around Rome and going to Pompeii and Naples. While yes, I had the standard interest to travel to these places, I like setting challenges for myself each week. For example, one of my challenges was to speak Japanese with someone in Italy, since I’m in the process of self-studying the language right now. It was fun attempting this rather strange challenge especially in Italy of all places, but it ended up providing not only practice in the language but friendship with a local. We had a tour guide for Pompeii on January 6th, and even when learning I kept my challenges in mind. He mentioned many examples that tied to Japan like the volcano known as Unzen. He eventually mentioned he studied in Japan for 2 years and we hit it off with a conversation in Japanese, which was my first natural use of the language and my first interaction with a native.
I love setting goals for myself no matter how strange they are, as they often force me out of my comfort zone and are great ways to expand my roots. My next challenge is to eat squid, or some very exotic food since I find myself glued to the most common dishes. This first week genuinely was one of the best experiences of my life, at first, I was unsure how I would like this trip, since it’s far from home and with strangers but I came to realize what usually seems hard and uncomfortable ends up being the most vital steppingstones in development. Whether that be educational, emotional or some unrelated event, branching out and trying new things will always help an individual improve (Submitted on January 7, 2024).