Kaylan Betten

Coming out of high school, studying abroad was never something that was on my to-do list. I always figured it would be a nice experience but would never fit into my four year degree plan or be in the financial budget. A big reason I chose Texas A&M as my university was because the College of Architecture made it feasible for every student to study abroad, they purposefully fit it into everyone’s four year plan and had specific programs that were catered to environmental design students. After two years in College Station I became comfortable with being on my own, the routine of classes, and extracurricular activities; It was time to exit my comfort zone, thus sparking my Italian adventure.
 
On August 29, 2013, myself along with 25 other A&M students boarded a plane to Italy for an 88 day adventure abroad. I really had no expectations prior to leaving the states, but I would soon realize that I was embarking on the best experience of my life. We stayed in a small hill town called Castiglion Fiorentino, which was about an hour south of Florence. This town was void of tourists and had one bar, one café, and a school; this quaint place quickly immersed us into the Italian culture. Our school schedule consisted of classes on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and on Wednesdays we traveled to a different part of the country every week.
 
This was a study abroad program along with a travel abroad program, in three months, I got to see almost every major city in Italy and truly understand what the country and its people were all about. These cities included, Castiglion Fiorentino, Arrezo, Florence, Assisi, Orvieto, Rome, Pisa, Venice, Murano, Burano, Cinque Terre, Sorrento, Island of Capri, Gargonza, Pienza, Montepuciano, San Gimigniano, and Sienna. My classes included Italian stone carving, History of science, and architecture studio. I learned really fast how to live on little sleep, wake up early, and make sure every moment abroad was spent actually being in Italy. We had little to no wi-fi service in the center where we stayed, which I believe to be a blessing. I was able to disconnect with social media, and to connect with a country and culture unlike anything I had previously experienced.
 
It would be near impossible to describe all of my wonderful experiences but my best experience abroad was when I got the chance to go to a local Italians home and eat lunch with their family. This lunch began at about 12:30 and ended at about 7:30. It was the longest, most filling, but most wonderful lunch I have ever had. The family talked about their Italian heritage, and explained everything we ate, course by course. This experience was authentic Italian, we had a castle view through the window, and cappuccinos in front of the fireplace. It’s safe to say that I was full and unable to eat for the next three days. When people say Italians know how to eat, they really mean it.
 
About six weeks into our trip was our Fall break; we had ten days to travel wherever we pleased. After long nights of planning transportation, booking hostels and planning excursions we were finally ready to travel to Paris, Amsterdam, and London. After our three day stay in Venice, myself along with four friends headed to the airport to fly to Paris. This day just happened to be the same day as a country-wide transportation strike. Our flight ended up being delayed by ten hours, but eventually, we made it into Paris. Paris was beautiful, and busy. We spent hours in the Lourve Museum, and saw all of the famous landmarks. Next, we boarded a train to Amsterdam, which a man ended up jumping off of in mid-transit, causing a two hour delay. But, we did safely make it to Amsterdam. This city was the prettiest place I have ever been. The trees were changing colors, the architecture was stunning, and the whole city was clean, well kept and active. We saw the Van Gogh museum, the infamous Red Lights District, and Anne Franks House. After all of our transportation struggles we were hesitant to board our overnight Ferry to London. Thankfully, everything went smoothly and we were back in a country that spoke English! London was wonderful, we had perfect weather, and we rode the London eye, saw the parliament buildings, and Buckingham Palace, along with other major landmarks. After the busiest one and a half weeks of my life, we were headed back to Rome. These were countries that I have always wanted to see, and am so blessed to have had the opportunity to do so.
 
After fall break, It was petal to the metal time for classes. We had four weeks left to finalize our design project which was a three story parking garage with a functional kitchen on the top story. My group of three’s project was called Duello in Cucina, which is Italian for Duelling Kitchens. Our concept was to have a Tuscan kitchen alongside an American kitchen where visitors and locals could engage in cooking food along with combining cultures and bringing people to Castiglion Fiorentino. After many hours in studio, we finally finished our project which was entered into the Castiglion Fiorentino Del Futuro competition. Surprisingly, My project ended up winning Overall Best Quality project and Overall First Place. It was a wonderful honor to have won this competition that four universities participated in, and that represented the city which so graciously housed us for three months.
 
This trip taught me so much about myself in such a short time. I learned what it was like to slow down and be in the moment. I saw how open the Italians were into letting us Americans into their lives and hearts, it taught me to be more gracious and giving to people. I have never experienced such selfless hospitality, and I will strive to be more like that in my daily life. I also learned personal responsibility. This was the first time I had ever traveled without my parents, and with few faults, I was able to conquer four countries.
I proved to myself that I can handle life on my own, that I was responsible, attentive and aware. It gave me pride to know that I had the independence that was required to successfully travel, plan, and budget a trip of this magnitude. This trip also helped to teach me more about worldly architecture, building methods, Italian history, and history of science.
 
To people who are contemplating studying abroad, I strongly urge you to do so. If I could, I would go back for next semester. This was not only a great semester in terms of classes, but a great three months in terms of a life experience. I will most likely never have the chance to live and travel all over a country for an extended period of time to where I feel like a local and not a tourist. Words cannot express how much my eyes have opened from this trip; I now have the ‘travel bug’.