Fall Semester in Italy

Ciao my name is Lizbeth and this past fall semester I studied abroad in Milan, Italy. I studied at Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and it is one of HPU’s exchange partner schools! Studying abroad has been one of the best adventures of my life and I feel so grateful that I took that leap of faith.

This experience was truly enlightening and daring. I learned so much about myself and the world! When it came to housing my school didn't offer it for international students so my friend and I used spotahome (definitely recommended) to get an apartment for the semester and it worked out great. Transportation is also very accessible and interconnected through the city. I would go to school in the metro and it was very efficient and cheap. The food was also affordable. I could get a croissant and cappucino for 2.20 euros!

Here are some of my pointers: 1. Complete your visa application appointment as soon as possible because it can take longer than expected (my visa arrived 2 days before my flight so it was very stressful). 2. Go on as many adventures/ trip as possible. Time flies by too fast and you don't want to have any regrets! 3. Take the time to not only travel around Europe but know your city! I would travel every weekend but when I was home I tried to do so much exploring and immerse myself in Italian culture :) 4. Pack light being abroad you will want to do it all so having a weekend bag and small travel containers and packing cubes makes that a lot easier. 

Some of my favorite parts of Milan to explore was Navigli canal, Parque Sempione, Duomo and Brera :)) A huge culture shock for me was how everybody dressed! Especially coming from Hawaii where a tank and shorts is acceptable but in Milan you would not even see people in athleisure and everyone always looked so put together! Milan is one of the fashion capitals of the world so it does make sense haha. Another tip is to go on solo trips at first I was hesitant but it felt so freeing! Lastly document everything whether that be by journaling, pictures, blogging or vlogging do it you’ll thank yourself later!! Like any adventure outside your comfort zone there will be ups and downs with missing loved ones and familiarity but just by taking it day by day helps.

While abroad I took my unrestricted classes(perfect to explore classes outside of your major). I took classes about Italian food and fashion, female literature, diversity and psychology and loved them all. I only had classes from Monday through Thursday same as HPU. The coursework worked very differently to what I was used to. In Italy I only had two assignments that weighed my final grade which was just the midterm and final exam/ presentation. While back in HPU it's more traditional to have small assignments along the semester and have exams that have less weight on your final grade. 

Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or doubts my instagram is @lizbethh.s