Somehow time works differently here than at home. At Northeastern I have a very good schedule and I keep to my daily routine. Here, whether it’s the change in time zones, atmospheres or lifestyles, I can’t seem to get it down. I have a very hard time accomplishing absolutely everything that I need to in a given day. There is not only school, but homework, keeping in touch with family members, keeping my apartment up to the cleanliness standards of my Italian landlady, exercising if possible, cooking, enjoying what little free time I have during the week and if there are enough left over hours, sleeping! I try to blame it on the fact that my apartment lacks internet access and I have to go to either school at the set hours (8AM-8PM here) or to the internet café that’s only open an hour later and that I am in class most days during the week and have lots of reading. But really I can’t put my finger on what exactly about this city that makes me so amazingly unproductive that I occasionally have to wake up several hours before my first class (a thing that most people who know me, know I don’t do – I’m a wake up about 30 seconds before I have to head out the door kind of girl … I NEED my sleep ha-ha) just to accomplish things I didn’t have time for the day before. I suppose this isn’t too terrible of a thing, early mornings are the norm even on the weekends as we mostly travel Fridays to Sundays.
Keeping in touch with family and friends back home seems to unfortunately be the thing that keeps getting left out of my daily routine here. I try to email as much as possible, but again lack of internet and optimal times to use it (as in good times to talk to people in the states) put serious restrictions on when and where I can actually get in touch with people. **For family and friends reading this, bear with me on staying in touch! I miss you and I’ll be in contact when I can!!** But above all its coordinating my schedule (or lack there of as it seems to be) with the ones of my loved ones at home that is providing me the most difficult.
I occasionally, though seemingly stupidly so, forget that I really am in another country and time zone entirely during my week. Because I am taking classes and currently in “school mode” my weeks aren’t that completely different than at home. So sometimes, it feels like I’m just back at school in Boston, which is only thirty minutes from my hometown. It is only when I have a free minute and attempt to contact someone from home and realize it’s only 3 AM there, or when chatting with friends and I pass by locals and hear their Italian accents melodically conversing with one another that it snaps me back into reality. I really am here. I’m in Italy; on the complete opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean. It is both the most amazing and frightening feeling ever. I love that I’m here and I love that I’m getting to have this experience, but knowing that I can’t just run home to do laundry, or have dinner with my parents is a little bit scary for a girl who didn’t move very far to go to college. Thankfully, though I do miss my friends and family dearly, Italy is keeping me busy, and I don’t have time to really wrap my head around it. Luckily, in situations like this, all of the almost 200 students that are in my program are in a similar boat. It’s a nice little unspoken bond that we have with each other. Like kids at summer camp, we’re all taking a little risk, enjoying a little taste of life away from home where new friends abound and the chance to experience new things is a daily occurrence. Well bring on the stupid campfire songs and outside excursions, ‘cause I’m bunked up for the “summer” and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
No comments:
Post a Comment