Em Walsh's Fall in Florence

One of our senior captains, Em Walsh, an attacker from Cortland, NY, traveled throughout Europe while studying abroad in Florence, Italy this fall. Here is what Em had to say about the program, her experience, and the impact it has had on her as a person.

Em on the streets of Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the background

Studying abroad is a once in a lifetime experience. When I travel again, which I hope to do as soon as my now depleted funds will allow, it won’t be anything like the Fall of 2011.  When you study abroad with a program, the opportunities are abundant. You’re given a furnished apartment in a great part of the city and programs and companies do all they can to make a student’s experience as full and involved as possible for the cheapest price.  Not to mention, because I’m only 22, and in college, I am lucky enough to still have some financial support from my parents, which will not be the case when I travel in the future. Again, something that made my semester all the more enjoyable and certainly less stressful.

I arrived in Florence at the end of August and stayed until the end of December. Although my 4 month stay flew by, it was also jam-packed with travels, food, wine, new friends, and immersion in an entirely new culture.  While in Italy, I traveled throughout the country to Rome, Venice, Verona, Bologna, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Siena, and some of the Amalfi Coast (Capri, Pompeii, and Positano).   I was also lucky enough to take some bigger trips, including a journey to Paris, Amsterdam, and Prague during my 2 week vacation in the middle of the semester, as well as a last minute trip to Interlaken, Switzerland on one of my last weekends abroad.  Each humbling trip taught me more and more about the importance of travel and seeing the way others live.

While I do feel as though I traveled a good amount, others traveled much more, some almost every weekend. However, for me spending time in Florence and feeling like I really lived in the city was very important. So while abroad, I attended cultural events and felt that I got to know the city. One of my favorite parts about my stay was the cooking class I took, where I learned how to make traditional Italian cuisine, which in turn taught me a lot about the history of Italy.

At 22, I feel as though I’m growing up a little more each day. I think that Italy jump-started this process. I’ve learned to live on my own, without instant access to my Mother and Father’s emotional support. Most importantly, I learned that I’m actually brave, much more brave than I thought I was prior to my trip. If I put my mind and my heart and my soul into something, there is nothing I can’t accomplish. Sounds cliché, I know, but I didn’t really know, or believe, that until now. The trip was life changing and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.