The first time

When I was preparing myself for my Italy trip, little did I realize the impact it would have on me. It would be the first time for a lot of first times I did certain event and activities. 

1)      Visit to Europe

It was the first time I ever experienced Europe outside of the airport. As soon as I arrived in Siena and reached our 12^th century residence, I did not know what to expect or what lay ahead. The staff did not speak a word of English but they were the porters whom we had to present our key to every time we left the residence. Once we would return, we would have to say our room number and in my case “Cinquantuno per favore” (51 please) and they would hand us the key. This was the very first time I lived on a residence, especially one that was almost ancient. 

After sorting out room situation, I learned that the residence had no elevators and it just so happens, that it was three stories high. Unfortunately, my roommate and I got stuck with a room on the third floor. This was the first time I carried two large suitcases up three flights of stairs. Through this, I realized the hidden strength I had in me. Nothing was impossible. 

The "Shoi-let" (Shower/Toilet) at our residence

 

The view from our residence room

3)      Eiffel tower

I really wanted to go to Paris, but of course I could not go alone. I found three girls who also wanted to go and planned a four day trip. Although we ran into occasional conflicts (mostly because I did not know them) and some hurdles along the way (almost missing our train from Florence to Rome and subsequently almost missing the plane from Rome to Paris), we made it there. It was quite the adventure. Once we got there, the girls were all afraid of heights and did not want to go up to Eiffel Tower. The tower is what I had dreamt of all my life and I would not let anything stop me. The first time I went up the Eiffel tower, I went up the tower alone and made sure to get a photo taken as well. The view… the sunset. What a sight! 

4)      Roaming Rome

I was lucky to be able to visit Rome over one of the weekends. Unfortunately, the girls I stayed with were in a different class and did not see all the sights I had already seen the previous day with my class. They told me the plan for the next day and I decided to do something else instead of repeating the sights I had already seen. I decided to roam Rome on my own. I went to the hotel lobby, grabbed a map and was on my way. As I roamed the streets, I observed the rich and historic architecture, but simultaneously saw at least one McDonalds or Burger King every few blocks. After an hour, I accidentally arrived at the Trevi Fountain. I dug through my purse, took out some change and threw it in the fountain to make a wish. Then, I walked to the shopping district of the Spanish steps and bought my very first pair of world famous leather gloves. While heading back to the hotel, the scent of tomato sauce and pesto filled the street. I ended up at a beautiful Italian restaurant. I sat down at the patio of this fancy restaurant and ordered the classic Pizza Margherita. That was one amazing pizza!     

Trevi Fountain

Spanish Steps

5)      Sleepless in Italy

The last weekend before heading back home, my roommate and I wanted to go shopping in Florence. We took the train in the morning from Siena and arrived in Florence. First, we shopped around the marketplace and then after hours of walking around the city, we decided to stop for dinner. 

In front of the Ponte Vecchio Bridge in Florence

While having our dinner, we bumped into some friends from Siena, who told us they were going to Central Park, a very popular night club in Florence. We both looked at each other and really wanted to go, but we didn’t know where we would change. Finally we walked into McDonald’s and ended up changing our clothes there. All the other people we knew also coincidentally showed up and we head to the club together. We spent the whole night and early morning at Central Park till 4:00 AM. After hours of dancing and partying, we were ready to head back. When we got to the station, it turned out that the first train back to Siena was not until 6:00 AM. This was the first time any of us had ever slept at a railway station. 

Central Park Night Club

The railway station at 4:00 AM

This trip was just the beginning of my “first time ever” experiences. I realized the importance of collecting memories for the first time to gain valuable and priceless life lessons. As Ralph Emerson Waldo once said “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be!” I want to have the best experiences so I can shape into the best possible me.

Keep Calm and Keep Moving

During my stay in Siena, my roommate and I only saw each other on weekdays since we would always end up traveling over the weekends.  

Except of course during the Palio di Siena, weekend. This was a special weekend where the whole town and visitors from all over the world would gather to watch a horse race. The riders would dress in traditional medieval costumes and compete with a particular contrada or team. We purposely planned to stay this particular weekend to watch this event together. 

Since this was our first time experiencing an event like this, we did not know what to expect. We improvised on breakfast by eating some left-over bread from the previous day and left early in the morning to go to Piazza Del Campo where the event was to take place. 

As we were trekking through the streets, we began to see the endless line of crowds going up and down the steep, hilly streets of Siena. People were drinking, singing, parading and shouting. The chaos was so incredible that we got separated from each other. 

We had no cell phones or channels to communicate unless we were next to each other. As I kept getting shuffled through the crowds, I finally did find her and our group of friends. We all watched this race together. It was unlike anything I had ever seen or experienced before and I felt like I was on a set for a medieval times movie. 

  

 

As soon as this race finished, we followed the crowd to the “Nicchio” or party spot where they were serving free wine for the whole city that night. The celebration was a mix of madness with fun spirit.

Once we finished with the wine celebrations, we were parading around town when one of the girls, who drank too much wine, began having a severe asthma attack on the street. While everyone went into panic mode, I knew she needed her inhaler immediately. I took a friend with me and ran for a half hour back to our residence. We grabbed her inhaler and started running back. 

Once we got back, she told us we had the wrong ones and immediately, we began to panic again. We ultimately had to call for medical help and she was taken to the hospital. The next day she was back in school and everything was back to normal. The only thing we could do at the time was to keep trying to improve the situation.

I learned that the best way to improve a bad situation is to keep calm and keep moving towards finding a solution, physically or metaphorically at any stage in life. This incident really tested my ability to think fast in a stressful situation but I ultimately had to keep on moving. I currently follow this principle in all aspects of my life. 

I know there may be some of you who disagree, but feel free to share your perspectives with me! 
 
If you would like to check out the Palio in Siena, you can watch this short clip below from the movie, Quantum of Solace which shows the horse race!

The "Why not?" Attitude

Since I lived at home during the course of my undergrad, I felt like I just did not get the feel for a real “residence lifestyle” or “going away from home experience." A friend of mine had just got back from England after doing a five week study abroad program there and could not stop going on about her amazing experience. Then it struck me. I was already in my second year, so maybe it was time I did something different. Something uncomfortable and pretty outrageous for my standards. So I did. 

My options to study abroad were the following with the list of pros: 

France: can improve my French + see the Eiffel Tower

Ecuador: can see the Amazon Rain Forest + surround myself with the animals of Galapagos Island

Italy: can enjoy all the pizza, pasta, coffee and gelato one can eat in five weeks + pick up some Italian

I finally decided to go with Siena, Italy.

Piazza Del Campo: The hang-out/chill spot of the city

During the application process, the university had set up an online forum platform for students to communicate with each other before, during and after the trip. I knew it was a good idea to check this out. To my amazement, there was only one post from one person after the forum had been active for a few days. After a 10 minute conversation with this girl, she asked me if I wanted to be her roommate. Without much thought, I agreed and it was decided that she would be my roommate in Siena for five weeks!

As the trip date was approaching, I began to wonder if I had made a smart decision by choosing a roommate so quickly without giving it much thought on compatibility or roommate agreements.

  

On my departure to Italy, at the gate of the airport, I came to know my roommate and I were the only ones out of 300 students who knew no one else on the trip. I was flying miles away for five weeks, away from my family for the first time. This trip was only five weeks right? So why not? 

Flash forward five weeks: 

My roommate became my closest friend on this trip. I could say I won the lottery, or this impulsive decision helped me see that sometimes, the best attitude to have is "Why not?"  I knew that no matter who I shared a room with, it was up to me to build and maintain a good relationship. Sometimes, it may be difficult to do something uncomfortable or something you fear and it may just work for you or it may not. But it's still a lesson learned! The key is to try new things and to do your best to make it work!  

Last day Shopping in Siena

Eating our last Gelato