Before I left to study abroad in Florence, Italy for my spring semester of my junior year, I had no idea what to expect. I was anxious but excited to live in a foreign country for nearly six months – I knew I would have a lot of fun, see some amazing things, and make memories I would never forget, but I wasn’t sure how I would react to living in an environment so different from the United States, especially so different from Alabama. How would I cope with the discrepancy between my busy college life in Tuscaloosa and the slower pace of the Italian dolce vita? How would I live without Wal-Mart, how would I live without the ease and instant gratification of American consumerism in a country where you have to get different types of food at different stores (bread at the bakery, fruit at the fruit stand, meat at the butcher, etc.)? But I learned a couple of things from my life in Europe that I think I’ll keep with me when I return to Tuscaloosa in the fall:

1. Sometimes it’s much healthier, and even more fun, to walk somewhere instead of driving your car. I loved to make scenic excursions out of my errand runs in Florence – taking the long way to the market to walk by the Arno, going for a stroll through the historic center instead of going home straight after class, etc. You never know what you’ll see or who you’ll meet when you change up your normal route.
2. Your daily coffee fix can be both fun AND functional. In Tuscaloosa, I used to just speed through the Starbucks in the Ferguson Center to grab my standard grande nonfat no-whip white mocha on the way to whatever class or meeting I was heading to, but in Europe a cup of coffee is never rushed. I would often order my daily cappuccino at my local café and drink it right there at the bar in (gasp!) a ceramic mug instead of a paper cup. This little pit stop in my morning routine allowed me to chat with my friends as we drank our coffees and even get to know the regulars and the waiters, many of whom I became friends with by the end of my semester. Living in Florence helped me see that my daily coffee run can be a social activity instead of merely an errand.
3. Don’t make so many plans. My natural approach to travel is to map out my entire itinerary, make hotel reservations months in advance, and budget every day down to the last cent. But the summer backpacking trip I took after my semester in Italy taught me that sometimes it’s better to leave things up in the air. For example, on a whim I stayed in Bruges, Belgium an extra day because it was so beautiful, throwing that day’s itinerary out the window and living in the moment. I really hope that I can keep this open-minded, adventurous, go-with-the-flow attitude when I return to Alabama.