GROW WITH SARAH GRACE

I’ve been staring at a blank page for weeks now, not because I don’t have much to write about. It’s quite the opposite, I have too much to write about. Ever since the second my British Airways plane touched Italian ground, my life has been going at what feels like 1,000 MPH but honestly, when it’s all said and done, I can’t complain because I am living in Rome now.

Wow. That’s so weird to actually say. I am living in Rome, Italy… for four months and ten days – have to put that in for my parents. They are scared I’m going to fall in love with an Italian boy and not come back. Even though it sounds promising, I do have a few obligations in May I need to attend so I guess 130 days will suffice for now. 

I’ve been dreaming of this experience for two years now. It’s a huge reason why I chose Loyola Chicago because I knew they had a campus in Rome and would make the process go smoothly. My original plan was to study abroad in Italy the Spring semester of my Sophomore year and then come home for the summer and work 40+ hours a week and return to Europe for a semester in Ireland to start my Junior Year. 

COVID-19 had other plans, sadly. Now, two years later, my plans have been twisted and turned in so many ways but I am grateful to finally be in Rome even if there are a few restrictions and I had to lose my Ireland semester. In the end, I get to spend four months doing what I love the most, traveling. 

Traveling is a weird thing these days. COVID-19 has made many dream locations of mine off-limits but being fully vaccinated and boosted has its perks. I’m learning that in Europe, you have to wear your mask inside and outside, and can only be removed if you are eating or drinking. The police will fine you if they see you without a mask anywhere – I’m also learning Italians are big on fines. I can get a 25 euro fine for failing to fill out forms and/or using an elevator that only allows one occupant.

 
Now onto the things you really care about. I’m living just a little North of the main city of Rome in a little neighborhood named “Balduina”. It is a quiet little town full of just enough stores and cafes to satisfy our hungry college student hearts. The real stuff though, is downtown. I’ve learned how to take the bus (I still have some hiccups – a story for another day) and can get to Piazza di Spagna (the Spanish Steps) in a 30 or so minute bus ride. I think in the three weeks I’ve lived here, Piazza di Spagna is the place I’ve visited the most. It has the best shopping and a little cafe with the BEST cannolis.

My classes are going well. Of course, it’s only been two weeks but I think taking 12 credits (the bare minimum) was the right move because although we are abroad, the professors here really take the study part of “study abroad” seriously. I am taking four classes in total: Italian Culture: Food and Wine, Baroque Art, World of Classical Rome, and Environmental Sustainability. 

My Food and Wine class is as fantastic as it sounds. I am learning about how past traditions of Italy influence “modern” food. We have tastings in almost all the classes and have two “field trips” planned where we visit a market and a vineyard to learn how to make wine (possibly the ONLY reason I signed up for this class). 

My Baroque Art class is my second favorite class. It’s all on-site so my classroom is set in art museums around Rome. We’ve visited the Vatican Museums and have St. Peter’s Basilica and other notable places on our agenda. This is a great way to learn history and see some remarkable places I wouldn’t normally go to.

The classes I’m “least excited for” are the Classical Rome (History) and Environmental Sustainability classes. My History class is half on-site so I’ll get to see some amazing sites around Rome which is exciting but my Environmental Sustainability is a three-hour-long class and is only in my schedule for a gen-ed requirement. I’m finding little bits of these classes to be interesting though so I guess I have a pretty good line-up all and all. 

I am here for 15 (ish) weeks and am planning on using this opportunity to go anywhere and everywhere I can. Loyola gives us classes off on most Fridays so a majority of our weekends are three days which makes traveling out of the country easier. Being the insanely organized person I am, I have written out the weekends I can travel three days versus two and when my friends can or can’t travel with me. 

There are quite a few weekends my friends’ families are coming to visit so I’ll have some weekends to go places they might have been interested in. Honestly, if I haven’t seen it, I want to see it. I have a few places that are a must-see like Paris and London but would love to see Poland, Germany, Ireland, Austria, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Greece or Denmark – to name a few. Anything will satisfy my traveling needs at this point.

I am beyond grateful for my parents. They are allowing me to have a life-changing experience and are so supportive of me. I am not much of a crier, at least not in front of people but when I left my mom in Dayton (to head to Chicago for my flight), she started to tear up which prompted a tear or five from me. And when I left my dad at the TSA in Chicago, I lost it.

I think it was at that moment I knew that for the first time in my lifetime, I will be away from my parents, Daniel, Jake and my grandparents for four and half months. When I go to Chicago for school, I come home for breaks but that isn’t an option here. 

As my plane was about to take off, my dad texted me that he was in a nearby parking spot (that looking back on it now, pretty sure wasn’t the most legal thing in the world) to watch me take off. He even flashed the car brights as a final goodbye. 

I know my family just wants me to have the best time and I am eternally thankful for them. Next step, convince my mom to hop on a ten-hour flight to explore Europe with me – it’s a work in progress. Anyone know how to knock someone out for an entire flight? Updates on that to come… 

Okay, If you have made it this far, you are a rockstar – I know this was a long one. This chapter of my life is about to be full of forever memories, lots of late nights and early mornings but I know somehow in the midst of it all, I’m going to find a piece of myself I have been searching for years and I can’t wait to meet that version of Sarah. Maybe she is a little more confident or maybe a little more “chill” and can make spontaneous plans. 

Whatever It is, I’m excited to experience it all. I know above all, I’m going to have stories to tell my kids and stories to tell you all so hold tight, my adventures will be coming. I hope to see as much of Europe as I can but honestly, if I spend the next four months in Rome, Italy, I’ll be happy. So here’s to my biggest adventure yet!