I am assuming most of you are aware of the coronavirus outbreak spreading throughout our world right now. And many of you may also be aware that I was studying abroad in Florence, Italy this semester. Well, apparently those two things cannot go hand in hand.
Just over a week ago when I was in Switzerland, I got an email from Iowa State telling me to pack my bags and book a flight because they were pulling all students from programs located in Italy. I cried, I called my dad, and I even cried while I called my dad.
Just a week earlier the school I am taking classes through in Florence (Lorenzo de Medici) gave students the option to return home for the remainder of the semester and take remote/online classes. I knew a decent amount of students who eagerly wanted to take that opportunity and return back to the states, and I just couldn't wrap my mind around that. I vowed to stay until they kicked me out... well, I guess that didn't age too well.
This semester, for me, was supposed to be four months of new people, new places, and new opportunities. The thought of giving that up after just one month was unfathomable, and not to mention I essentially used every cent I have to my name to fund my tuition, housing, traveling, and more. Yet here I was having that opportunity taken away from me.
Thank the Lord above for the friends I made over the month I was in Florence! One of my new friends Liam has family in England, and he was more than eager to invite me and two other friends to join him in visiting them for a few weeks. A family friend of his helped us book an apartment to rent out for dirt cheap for the two and a half weeks we will be here. It's so comforting to see how eager people are to help you out in times of need.
So silver lining to the whole dire situation is that I get to spend another two weeks with some of the best people I have ever met in an entirely new place I would not have seen otherwise. Plus, we are all going on the spring break trip we had previously booked which adds Brussels, Amsterdam, Dublin, and Edinburgh to my list. I swear the only way it could have worked out better is if this virus never made its way to Italy at all. Now that's making some lemonade out of lemons y'all.
It's still sad that I don't know when I will be able to return to Florence again as it could be anywhere from three months to ten years. However, I feel so fortunate to have been able to go at all. I honestly wouldn't have wished for a different experience because I couldn't imagine my time there without all my new friends.
Shoutout to my parents for being so supportive and understanding of my desire to continue traveling in Europe for a bit longer knowing I can't get this time to travel back, to LdM for offering online classes so I can stay and travel a bit longer, and to Liam's friends and families for welcoming three strangers with the most open of arms.
A virus stole the semester I thought I would have, but it also brought one I couldn't have planned for myself in a hundred years. And for that, I feel extremely grateful.
Just over a week ago when I was in Switzerland, I got an email from Iowa State telling me to pack my bags and book a flight because they were pulling all students from programs located in Italy. I cried, I called my dad, and I even cried while I called my dad.
Just a week earlier the school I am taking classes through in Florence (Lorenzo de Medici) gave students the option to return home for the remainder of the semester and take remote/online classes. I knew a decent amount of students who eagerly wanted to take that opportunity and return back to the states, and I just couldn't wrap my mind around that. I vowed to stay until they kicked me out... well, I guess that didn't age too well.
This semester, for me, was supposed to be four months of new people, new places, and new opportunities. The thought of giving that up after just one month was unfathomable, and not to mention I essentially used every cent I have to my name to fund my tuition, housing, traveling, and more. Yet here I was having that opportunity taken away from me.
Thank the Lord above for the friends I made over the month I was in Florence! One of my new friends Liam has family in England, and he was more than eager to invite me and two other friends to join him in visiting them for a few weeks. A family friend of his helped us book an apartment to rent out for dirt cheap for the two and a half weeks we will be here. It's so comforting to see how eager people are to help you out in times of need.
So silver lining to the whole dire situation is that I get to spend another two weeks with some of the best people I have ever met in an entirely new place I would not have seen otherwise. Plus, we are all going on the spring break trip we had previously booked which adds Brussels, Amsterdam, Dublin, and Edinburgh to my list. I swear the only way it could have worked out better is if this virus never made its way to Italy at all. Now that's making some lemonade out of lemons y'all.
It's still sad that I don't know when I will be able to return to Florence again as it could be anywhere from three months to ten years. However, I feel so fortunate to have been able to go at all. I honestly wouldn't have wished for a different experience because I couldn't imagine my time there without all my new friends.
Shoutout to my parents for being so supportive and understanding of my desire to continue traveling in Europe for a bit longer knowing I can't get this time to travel back, to LdM for offering online classes so I can stay and travel a bit longer, and to Liam's friends and families for welcoming three strangers with the most open of arms.
A virus stole the semester I thought I would have, but it also brought one I couldn't have planned for myself in a hundred years. And for that, I feel extremely grateful.
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| Saying good-bye to Florence |
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