Samantha Hirschman | Blogger

Well, I’m in Rome. I’ve been here a whole week and it seems crazy. We keep thinking we are part of a movie scene or in a dream because it all seems so unreal. I’ve been experiencing new smells, styles, foods, and so much more! Italia has already stolen my heart with its delicious food and extravagant architecture.

But it’s not all as wonderful as it seems. The busses are slow. The city smells. There is graffiti everywhere. And I’m constantly worried that someone is going to steal my things. Life in the city is much different from small-town Iowa, but I’m beginning to get used to it.
So let me tell you all about my first week as an American student in Italia.

I’ll start with leaving my small hometown of Cherokee.

It was Monday morning. I acted like it was just another day. I had to – if I didn’t act, I would have just cried the whole two hours to the airport. On the drive to Omaha, I embraced my last few minutes with my parents and boyfriend. As I sat next to Manny, I breathed in his scent because I knew I wouldn’t be near him for four months. I appreciated my father’s witty attitude and his smart comments. I was touched by the tears I knew my mother would soon be crying. In my heart, I wept. I knew I would miss them. I knew it would be one of the hardest things I’ve done, and it was.

As I walked in the airport with Manny and my parents, it began to feel more real. I was leaving for 16 weeks, and I wouldn’t be able to come home. I checked my bags and we began to walk to the terminals. It was time for goodbyes. I started crying. I turned to my mom and dad. My mom was crying. I gave each of them a hug and kiss. I then pulled up my camera and asked my mom to take a picture of me.

She said, “Don’t you want one of you and Manny?” I replied, “Not yet. I’m going to bawl my eyes out.” I smiled. Click. I turned to Manny and instantly started crying. Hugging him and being held by him — I missed him already. I’ve never felt that way before. I’ve always missed him after I left to go home or after he left, but in this moment, I missed him.

I kissed him and hugged him again. I went over to give my parents each another hug. As I picked up my things, I decided I wasn’t ready. I gave Manny another big hug and finally turned around to go to security. In my mind, I needed to just turn around because otherwise I wouldn’t have wanted to let go.

I had two flights- the first to Detroit and the other to Rome. Both flights went well. While at the Detroit airport, I met one of my classmates, Kate. We chatted a little bit, but we had to board soon. During the flight, I had ravioli for dinner. It got me in the mood of Italian. When we got into Rome, it was about 8am. Crazily enough, I had already lost 7 hours from the different time zones.

Picking up my bags, I headed over to find my university, American University of Rome, waiting for me. It was so exciting to have someone waiting for me with a sign – I felt important. We were taken to our apartments and left to chill for the day. After waiting around for a while, my roommate Kayla showed up. We decided to walk around and find a place to eat, adding a girl named Jeanie to our dinner date at the market. I’m living with a total of five other girls this semester. Later that day, everyone with International Studies Abroad (ISA) went to eat in the center.The meal was a three course plated meal and the food was interesting.

The next day, Wednesday, we had to be up early for a walking tour. The tour was two hours long and it took us all over the neighborhood surrounding our university down to the Fontana de Trevi. It was a very long tour, but it was really cool to see.

Thursday was exciting, because we went to see the Colosseo, Arch of Constantine, and the Roman Forum. After we had the 1.5 hour tour around these places, we found a nice place to eat and had pizzas. It was so good. We tried their house wine, Merlot grown in Rome, and I found it to be very smooth and easy to drink.

On our way home, we stopped at a little shop that did free tastings. We asked about a Merlot in order for me to find a bottle of wine that I like. (It’s hard for me to find anything.) We tried a few other types of alcohol, and later we all went out and had a good time.

Culture shock finally hit me and I began to feel homesick, mainly missing being in Iowa.

AUR was throwing a big kick-off barbecue on Saturday, so a few of us went and enjoyed a hamburger. Sunday was a Beach Day, so almost all of us went to the beach and enjoyed some relaxation. Most of the weekend was just a time to chill and rest before classes start up tomorrow.

I’m excited to share my experiences this semester with you all! I hope you keep reading my blog and don’t forget to check out more photos on my Facebook profile!

Sam