Samantha Hirschman | Blogger

Have you ever done a load of laundry where you only fit about two sheets, a few shirts, and a sweatshirt into the washer? In Italy, it took me a full day to do laundry because 1) hardly fit anything into the washer and 2) a load took two hours. It’s a great feeling when I can put all my laundry into three different washers at the same time and be done after three hours of washing and drying. Did I mention we didn’t have dryers? Washing and drying all my laundry in the same amount of time it took to do one load before.

It’s crazy to think that so many of the ‘little things’ have stuck with me the most. For example, the sound of a fountain by my school or the fantastic view of the city I seen on one of my last days.

In only a few weeks of being back, I’ve already experienced my slow Italian life get sped up like the gun just fired for the race. I find myself trying harder and harder to slow back down and relieve stress. In my first week of the semester, I’ve already had my mental breakdown and class changes. But for the first time EVER, I’ve been able to recognize when my mind and body is accelerating to keep up with the American lifestyle. It’s wonderful to finally feel it, because now, I can adjust. I know that every day I have to have at least a half hour alone to re-coop and slow my mind. Don’t we all?

It’s been a difficult start to the semester, but I’m excited to continue to use my experience and education in my continued college career.