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doobea · 10 months

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bllk college au

a/n: my personal headcanons of how some of the bllk guys would survive in uni ゜✧*̣̩☽⋆゜

isagi

most likely majoring in exercise science

generally an average student all around, his strongest classes being anatomy and weakest being chemistry. surprisingly balances his soccer practices with his studies quite well!

definitely likes studying in groups - whether that be with his classmates or friends. though probably the type to also cram a few days before the finals. (pre test anxiety helps) he has a favorite study location at a small local café on campus

wouldn’t necessarily join a fraternity but wouldn’t say no to a party if a friend invited him - refrains from excessive alcohol drinking if it’s an unfamiliar crowd (last time it ended up with him waking up to a 'no ragrets' tramp stamp)

developed a small growth spurt after the first year - now standing at a gracious 5'11 height

rin

honestly, maybe majoring something in the STEM field like bioengineering

super strict about studying habits - he follows the pomodoro technique and generally averages around an A/A- in majority of his classes

likes to keep his distance and doesn’t have many close friends. keeps texts and convos super curt with classmates and refuses to give out his social media handles if they ask (he has like 10 followers lol)

after classes he tends to either go back to his dorm or the library to study. if he has soccer practice he usually finds himself doing assignments during small breaks. can totally seeing him studying to like edm (secretly a rave boy awakening?)

got to study abroad in Italy and France for a semester

nagi

combining both his interests of gaming and desire to not work as hard, he finds himself majoring in computer science (its def a hard major to others but in terms of working remote/hybrid in the future he takes it lol)

students are envious of him, the type to have photographic memory so all his test score are high marks without him really trying

probably accidentally got himself on the e-board of the video game club after beating everyone in a valorant tournament

like a cat, he likes to take naps and sunbathe during warmer weather. when its winter, you'll find him knocked out in the student lounge booths

he longboards to his classes - maybe even the type to have a remote controlled longboard if he's feeling extra lazy to move his legs

reo

he's the biggest business major stereotype you'll see - but in a good way. probably double majors in accounting and business admin, goes the extra mile and gets an MBA after undergrad.

loves hosting monthly parties at his apartment and often sends out over the top email invitations with an RSVP notice (he spends like all morning making it on canva)

is the type to always have an internship lined up for winter or summer break. by the time he graduates, his resume will probably be over two pages (the average student gets depressed after looking at his linkedin)

aside from soccer, he most likely picks up a water or winter sport on the side - something like water polo or skiing would be fitting

always surrounded by other finance bros (minus nagi), its like a never ending conversation of stocks and the state of the economy (gets irritated if asked but why cant we just print more money)

chigiri

he's def planning on going to physical therapy school! like isagi, he'll probably major in exercise science but with a track to PT school.

likes to pick out fun artsy classes for his electives - such as calligraphy, a ballroom dance class, and cooking (college doesn't have to be suffering)

spends most of his weekends working part-time as a physical therapy assistant at the campus health center. when he's not working, he likes to decompress with a sci-fi novel at the local café

adopts a black cat at the end of his first year, he tries to hid them under his bed whenever the floor's RA (resident assistant) does their monthly check-ins (he says the distressed meows are a new ringtone)

his music taste is bedroom pop and this dorm is def decorated as such. polaroids of his friends and family are pinned directly above his desk, fairy lights are attached on the ceiling in a zig-zag formation, and owns a record stand with tons of vinyls

bachira

probably comes in undecided and then picks a major after taking some required classes. he ends up majoring in cognitive science. (lowkey i feel like he would make a good therapist or researcher)

big mama's boy - weekly hour long facetimes with his mom, recalling what he's eaten, who he's hung out with, how classes are kicking his butt, etc. (leaving out the crazy stunts at parties)

frat guys love him, he's always down to pull a crazy hat trick whether that'd be jumping from the second floor window, trying to steal a traffic cone with campus police nearby, and just filming the latest wild tiktok trends (grimace shake? hes on the ground gurgling that shit out)

was so excited at the beginning of the year of potentially joining different clubs and organizations, ended signing up for like 50+ that he doesn't even remember (his email notifications go crazy)

one outdoor club activity he does commit to, aside from soccer, would be extreme frisbee (those are a thing yes!), sometimes would go overboard and he crashes into other students on the grass field while trying to catch it

#blue lock #bllk #itoshi rin #bachira megumi #isagi yoichi #reo mikage #nagi seishiro #bllk college au #doobea writing #bllk x reader #blue lock x reader #blue lock imagines #blue lock headcanons #omg first post zzz #rin itoshi #chigiri hyoma

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hockeylovee12 · 11 months

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My Captains Sister-Adam Fantilli

Chapter One

Summary: After returning from a study abroad Lucy Moyle develops a crush on one of her brother’s teammates.

Lucy Moyle had just returned to Michigan after spending the first half of her sophomore year abroad and could not be more excited.

She loved her experience and wouldn’t trade it for the world but she also missed her family including her older brother Nolan Moyle who is currently captain of the University of Michigan hockey team.

She came home mid December and spent the last few weeks with her family but with the second semester starting up it was time for her and Nolan to return to Michigan.

Her parents flew out with the two of them a few days before the start of the new year to help her move all of her stuff into Nolan’s house where she would spend the rest of her year living at and a few days later she was all set and her parents flew back home.

Nolan and her are pretty close and he too couldn’t be more thrilled to have his baby sister back in town and living with him.

———————————————————————

Lucy had just finished her last class of the day and begins walking back to Nolan’s house. It was about a 20 minute walk but she made it and notices a few cars outside.

She ignores it and walks inside to see a few guys sitting on the couch with Nolan watching TV she recognizes a few of them as Nolan’s teammates from last year but some are new faces.

“Hey Luce these are just some guys from the team” Nolan says when he realizes she’s come into the house.

“You know Keato and Ethan and Mark these are a few of of the freshman that’s Adam and Luca Fantilli and Gavin Brindley and that’s Rutger McGroarty” Nolan introduces while pointing out the freshman.

“Guys this is my little sister Lucy” Nolan says there’s a few hi’s and nice to meet you but nothing else

“Hey we’re just finishing up a game then we’re gonna walk to the sports bar and grab some dinner wanna join?” Nolan offers

“No thanks I got so much homework and I should probably work on it” Lucy says

“ok good luck on it” Nolan says as Lucy starts walking to her room and shuts the door.

Nolan takes a seat back on the couch next to Keato and Gavin.

“I didn’t know you had a sister” the oldest Fantilli chirps

“ya she just got back she was studying abroad last semester” Nolan says he gets a few nods and then looks over at a few of the freshman who are sitting on the opposite couch “but she’s off limits so don’t even think about it” Nolan adds in a more serious tone.

A few of the freshman nod and put their hands up saying they got it and Nolan accepts it and the group goes back to enjoying the game.

Near the end of the game Adam gets up to refill his glass of water in the kitchen and finds Lucy as she’s filling up her water bottle.

“Hey Adam right” Lucy says

“Ya that’s me” Adam responds

“Nolan told me you played on the world Junior team for Canada you got the gold right?” Lucy asks

“ya ya I did it was an amazing experience” Adam smiles

“that’s seriously awesome!”

“Ya and I heard you just got back from study abroad how was that experience?” Adam asks

“it was amazing we went to like 7 or 8 countries around Europe it was fantastic”

“what was your favorite place?”

“my favorite was probably Italy I loved the culture and scenery”

“Really cool I have family in Italy and we went to visit for the first time this summer” Adam tells Lucy.

The two continue in a conversation about Italy for around 5 minutes before Keato walks in

“Adam the game just ended you ready?�� He asks

“Ya all set” He says

“it was nice talking to you” Adam tells Lucy then tosses his plastic cup away and walks over to Keato.

“Don’t get any ideas Nolan is really protective about his sister” Keato warns

“We were just talking about studying abroad” Adam says

“alright I’m just telling you” Keato says before they reach the rest of their group at the front door.

———————————————————————

The following weekend the Wolverines hockey team had a two game home stand against the Wisconsin Badgers which they won by 3 on Friday.

Lucy went to the game on Saturday night with a couple of her friends and after the wolverines won 7-2 her friends asked if she wanted to go to a party with them.

Lucy although not usually the party type agreed and headed back to their place.

She was already wearing a pair of black ripped jeans and borrowed and blue top from her friends before the headed out.

She sent a text to Nolan letting her know where she was going to and he responded with be careful. She rolled her eyes at his protectiveness and entered the party.

Her friends got her a truly and they all made their way to the dance floor. After about 20 something minutes Lucy had finished her first can and gotten another fruity flavored truly.

Half way through her second Lucy had started to feel the buzz kicking in and felt a little nauseous.

“Hey I’m gonna be right back” she told her equally drunk friends as she stepped off the dance floor.

She made her way closer to the drink table and steadied herself with the wall.

“Lucy you ok?” A voice asks her from behind she turns around and sees the youngest Fantilli standing their with a red solo cup in his hand. “Adam” She says

“hey” she continues

“are you ok?” He repeats

“ya ya I’m I’m great!”She tells him taking another sip of her drink

“are you here with somebody?” Adam asks

“ya ya my friends are right on the dance floor” Lucy says pointing to the crowd of people

“alright just be safe tonight ok” Adam tells her she nods her head and watches as he walks away in the opposite direction of her.

Lucy shakes her head at the feeling of awkwardness that conversation gave her and takes another sip of her drink before heading back to the dance floor to find her friends.

The group of girls continue dancing and soon Lucy finished her second drink and had another one in her hand. A few sips in she starts to feel dizzy and before she can process what’s happening she’s being carried out of the party and is sitting outside the house on the sidewalk.

“Hey here’s a water” Someone says

“thanks” a second voice says

“should we call Nolan?” The first one asks

“ya ya we should I’ll stay with her” she hears footsteps retreating as her head tries making sense of what’s happening

“Lucy hey it’s Adam you need to drink some water” the second voice says her vision starts to clear and she sees him sitting next to her holding her up with an open water bottle in his hand.

Lucy reaches out with her cheeks red and gently takes the bottle from his hand brushing up against his hand. Lucy takes a few sips of the cold water and shivers.

“Here take my jacket” Adam says taking off the black jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders.

Lucy starts to feel this tingling sensation inside of her stomach and something comes over her as she looks up at Adam and wraps her arms around him then plants her lips on him. It takes a second for the shock to set in but he kisses her back. Soon the world goes silent and the two of them sit there kissing.

“What the fuck!” A voice shouts the two break out of the kiss immediately and see a not so pleased Nolan who starts getting out of the white vehicle he pulled up in.

Adam immediately takes in the situation while it takes Lucy a few extra seconds to realize what exactly just occurred. “Nolan I I didn’t it’s not not what you think she she kissed me and it just happened I promise” Adam defends himself to his extremely pissed off captain while starting to get up.

Luca Fantilli who had called Nolan in the first place gets a good view of the situation from afar and starts rushing over to cool it down but doesn’t make it in time to prevent Nolan from sucker punching Adam in the jaw and then proceeding to rip the jacket off of his younger sisters shoulders and throwing it towards his bleeding teammate.

Luca checks on Adam as he sees Nolan practically drag his younger sister to the passenger seat of his white car and then drive off leaving the two brothers on the sidewalk.

When the pair of siblings arrive back at their shared home. Nolan practically carries a still drunk Lucy to her room and tucks her into bed before angrily shutting the lights and slamming the door.

———————————————————————

Meanwhile the Fantilli brothers had taken an Uber back to their shared dorm and the oldest Luca had some words to say about his brothers taste in make out partners.

“Dude” is the first thing to come out of Luca’s mouth when they step into their room.

“Don’t dude me” Adam says with a scoff

“You don’t go after someone’s sister come on man everyone knows this” Luca continues

“You literally dated Rutgers sister and she kissed me!” Adam yells

“That’s different Rutger literally set us up and Nolan explicitly said his sister is off limits! And you go and kiss her!”

“So I should’ve left her drunk on the side of the road called Nolan and been like hey your sisters drunk come get her and gone back to the party right” Adam says sarcastically

“No but you still totally fucked up like what we’re you thinking?” Luca raises his voice a little

“Right now I’m thinking I really wishing I was drunker because anything would be better than having this conversation with you!” Adam yells grabbing his keys off of his desk and walking out of the room.

———————————————————————

The next morning Lucy Moyle wakes up with a massive headache and no memory of the night before then proceeds to roll out of bed still in her clothes from last night.

She walks out of her room to see her brother who’s doing homework in the kitchen.

“Good morning” She says forgetting the events that occurred last night

“it’s noon” Nolan harshly replies

“geez what’s got you in a mood” she comments

“do you not remember what happened last night?” Nolan says in a louder tone

“no not really but I do have a headache so can you keep your voice down” She says walking to the medicine cabinet to grab two Advil

“how about I refresh your memory you got drunk at a frat party and Adam and Luca took you outside, Luca called me to pick you up and when I get there you’re making out with Adam!” Nolan yells Lucy’s face pales and her eyes open wide

“No I didn’t” Lucy asks appalled by the news of her drunken actions

“oh my god I have to apologize” Lucy says and starts rushing to her room only to be pulled back into the kitchen by Nolan

“Absolutely not!” Nolan raises his voice still with a firm but not painful grip on Lucy’s arm Lucy winces at the harsh tone

“Nol it wasn’t his fault! It was mine please I need to apologize” Lucy defends

“No you are not to see or speak to Adam again!” Nolan says Lucy rolls her eyes

“I mean it Lucy! You better stay the hell away from Adam!” Nolan says before walking towards his room and slamming his door.

A/N All images are from Pinterest

#umich hockey #feel free to interact #luca fantilli #adam fantilli #fantilli brothers #nolan moyle #umich #overprotective brothers #Adam fantilli story #my captains sister #come send in ideas

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wanderingblindly · 3 months

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Yay tag game time!!!! Thank you @borntogayz and @ravenrage27 <3333

what color are your eyes?

Medium brown?

tell me about your pets. or your dream pet.

THE LOVE OF MY LIFE, MY TEENY TINY LITTLE CAT HONEY!!!! She's a total coward, I love her more than anything in the world. I adopted her at six months old <3333

share some interesting fact about yourself.

My go-to fun fact is that I won a FIFA medal when I was in my teens, but a vaguely more recent fun fact is that I was almost deported from Japan during my study abroad after being PROFILED AS A DRUG DEALER????

what was the first fandom you were a part of?

Visual Kei in like, 2011? After that was Dan and Phil (shame, shame)

do you have any phobias?

Not a phobia per se, but I couldn't touch cardboard for most of my life; I still can't bring myself to touch Styrofoam and Sherpa. Oh, and the national alarm systems/automated alarm voices make me cry/physically ill.

are you a picky eater? if so, what food can't you stand?

Not really! I'll try anything once, at least. But, unfortunately, most nigiri or sashimi -- the texture of raw fish doesn't work for me.

do you eat the burger and fries at the same time? or one after another?

One after another, but the fries are going in a milkshake whenever possible.

winter or summer?

Winter!!!! I'm too sweaty for summer and it sucks!!!!

what fanfiction tropes are your favorite?

SWEET FLUFFY STUPID AUS!!! Coffee shop AUs? Bookstore related AUs? College/University AUs? Inject them directly into my bloodstream.

are you studying or working? what did you study, what is your job?

I work full time! I'm a data analyst/UI sort of mess.

what is the last country you visited?

Italy, 2018 (jesus christ has it really been that long?? changing this asap)

what country would you want to move to after retiring?

Hmmm maybe somewhere in Scandinavia? I haven't thought much about this.

who was your first crush?

I think Bill Kaulitz when I was like, 11. Strong start.

how did you get into f1 fandom?

I looked up f1 tags on AO3 as a """""""joke""""""" one time, then realized f1blr existed after devouring all the sebchal available to me. And now I'm here, thriving.

Idk who hasn't been tagged!!! maybe @ocontraire, @jennarations, @albonoooo, @creabirds???

#tag games :)#never forgot the deportation story of 2018 or whatever lmfao #rambling.txt

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nott-another-sideblog · 17 days

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blaise zabini headcanons because he’s my second favourite

his favourite colour is warm deep orange, like dark/burning honey

born in italy but his mother owns a home in england as well

spends most of his summers abroad in his family home, but he and his mother travel a lot

doesn’t really care about his many stepfathers bcs he’s used to them dying pretty quick

his mother doesn’t even directly kill most of them they’re just super old

everyone just assumes she did because. well. seven of them

she might like. not clean up water spills or leave random potions in the fridge or wtv but she’s just prompting chance tbh

it leaves them with a lot of money and blaise with complicated feelings about relationships

he’s never seen one last that long so he doesn’t really expect them to

lots of people flirt with him and people think he’s a womaniser because he doesn’t shut it down

he doesn’t actually sleep around or date that much though. dating seems like too much effort for something he doesn’t see as long-term, and he has exams n shit

tries hard to achieve but tries just as hard to keep that under wraps

does his best to make everything look effortless. like he’ll study but only alone in the dorms, and he’ll have a fancy skincare routine that he hides from everyone

like he’s arrogant but makes sure he can back it up, he will Not be caught doing worse than someone else

most of the people in his house r big name families from england who have their legacy and fortunes behind them. image is important to him because he has to prove himself and he doesn’t have the ties and influence his peers had before they could even talk. let’s be real basically everyone is cousins somehow in pure blood britain and he doesn’t have that connection with everyone

he still has the wealth and the legacy but not the recognition

doesn’t like draco that much bcs he thinks he can’t back his ego, he tries too hard very visibly and it irritates blaise

that absolute mass of hair gel in first year can be cited as an example. so much noticeable excess to seem professional with his slicked hair when it just looked like a helmet

really likes quidditch, but he prefers playing to watching. he likes watching it too but there’s something different about participating, being able to directly affect the outcome of something

extremely competitive

not above cheating but is subtle about it. no stealing chess pieces but he might look over your cards at poker, or shuffle a specific way if he’s the dealer

if he gets caught he gets defensive and denies denies denies, it’s like his least favourite thing ever because it’s like a show of intelligence to not get caught, and it just causes pointless annoying arguments

the majority of his housemates r cheating too so it’s not like anyone cares beyond ‘screw over whoever u like but you fucked over Me Specifically and i don’t like that’, but that’s still annoying to deal with

high standards for everything, from his food to his clothes to his stationary, especially to himself

has very neat handwriting and is proud of it

quite likes vertical stripes but doesn’t wear them often

HATESSS sudoku with a burning passion

likes crime novels and is pretty fond of romance, but he doesn’t tell anyone about the latter

judgemental in the ‘nice to ur face but will talk shit behind your back’ kind of way

it’s not that he won’t defend himself or be clear when he hates u, it’s just that he doesn’t see the value in isolating his peers by insulting them in front of them

that’s a very bad strategy for getting influence

ppl are never sure if he likes them or not

outwardly suave and works hard to look nonchalant, but if he’s close to someone he lets himself relax and be a bit more playful

surprisingly decent at divination but still refuses to go anywhere near the class

pretty good at charms

his hair was pretty long in fourth year but he had it cut short again for fifth

absolutely hates comc he would rather burn than deal with creatures

he loves his owl and that is it

his mother is nicknamed the black widow due to all the dead husbands. ironically blaise is terrified of spiders. and insects. and anything that scuttles

used to have a gap tooth and was very insecure until he got it magically fixed

#blaise >> tbh #blaise zabini #nott another sideblog #blaise zabini headcanons #blaise zabini hp

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z0mbieb0ys-recs · 3 months

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Ogni Parte È Viva (Every Part Is Alive)

by: @euphorial-docx

Chapters: 35

Words: 142,421

Ship: Regulus Black/James Potter

Rating: Explicit

Summary:

During the summer of 1979, Regulus Black lives with his uncle, Alphard, and other Black family pariahs in the outskirts of Trieste, Italy.

When his older brother Sirius, who’s been studying abroad in America, returns for summer break with his university friends, the last thing Regulus expected was to be swept up in a furtive romance with his brother’s new best friend.

#fic rec #jegulus fic rec #cmbyn inspired #hurt/comfort #angst and fluff and smut #black family #jegulus #ao3 #fanfic #james potter x regulus black #james x regulus #absolutely adore this fic #marauders fic rec #background wolfstar #jewish black family #bittersweet ending #zomebieboyrecs

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umichenginabroad · 2 months

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Madrid Week 7: Viva Italia (not america..?)

Hola a todxs :). Niko back here again with week 7’s blog of my study abroad experience in Madrid! Like I mentioned in last week’s blog, this last weekend I traveled to Italy, and this past weekend I was in Sevilla, Spain. My trip to Italy was particularly transformative and jam packed with personal reflection. Read on for the reflection, stay for the photos (and Italian food p*rn). This blogpost probably took the longest for me to write, and was honestly pretty difficult for me to put in words. I hope I captured my thoughts well, and I always welcome feedback and discussion to any and all readers (at any point in time!).

Argentina (but aren’t we talking about Italy?)

As I’ve mentioned before, the summer after freshman year, I studied for 6 weeks in Buenos Aires, Argentina. One particular weekend, I took a trip to Iguazu Falls — the largest waterfall in the Americas by volume, and one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.

Long story short, I got onto a tour bus with a bunch of strangers from around the world, drove 15 hours across Argentina to get to the falls, randomly selected hostel room groups based on who was sitting nearby on the bus, and ended up in a group with 4 girls from Mexico, my travel buddy from the USA, and 1 girl from Italy.

We spent a wonderful weekend together seeing the waterfalls (barring a short-lived but intense spout of food poisoning after eating something funky at a Brazilian buffet), and formed the foundation of what could turn into lasting friendships. But, come Monday, we parted ways, not sure whether we would ever see each other again.

This trip was the first time I went into a travel situation without a true support system, and an important exercise in “trusting in the process” — and It helped me realize that I was capable of forming meaningful connections across language barriers, cultures, and in un-traditional social situations.

If it wasn’t obvious already, you might be able to see where this little backstory fits into my recent trip to Northern Italy. Before I departed for Spain in January, I sent a text to Gaia — the Italian friend I met in Iguazu — that I would be in Europe for the semester, and would love to see her at some point if the logistics work out.

Now we actually talk about Italy

Flash forward a few months, and well, the logistics worked out. Although our original plan was to go skiing in a small village in the Alps, we ended up being unable to due to weather issues. Instead, Gaia, her friend Camilla, and I took a tour of Northern Italy, visiting Turine, Asti, Moncalvo, and Milan.

In a way, this trip was an even bigger exercise in trust — although this time, it was my gut I was trusting, not the process. I hadn’t seen Gaia in nearly 2 years, and the only other time we had met lasted just 3 short days. I was about to spend another 3 days with her — but this time, nearly every waking moment would be spent together.

For some reason, the thoughts of “what if we didn’t get along?”, “what if it was awkward?”, “what if we got on each other’s nerves?” — normal things to think in this situation — never crossed my mind. I trusted my gut: that Gaia was someone that I got on with in the past, and I had a feeling that the people we grew into over the past two years would mesh just as well.

So, I didn’t worry. And I was right not to. After a short period of hesitancy, we clicked. We spent the weekend learning about each other — both from a personal and cultural point of view.

And by the end of this trip, I felt culturally enriched. There’s a level of cultural intimacy (is that a term? Well now it is, I just coined it) that can only be experienced by being someone who has lived and breathed that culture for their whole life — something that I feel like I’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing in my own heritage, first or second-hand.

A short aside on heritage in the USA

Ethnically, I am half Italian, half Greek. My great grandparents immigrated to the USA from the south of Italy through Ellis island, raising my grandmother, who gave birth to my mom. 4 generations later, I feel more comfortable calling myself Italian-American than Italian.

My mom’s side of the family was raised in northern New Jersey. I was raised Roman catholic, and I have 11 first cousins. Family gatherings are loud and boisterous, and people talk with their hands. My grandmother makes delicious Italian cookies called Pizzelles, and we call dish towels Mopinas (which isn’t even in the italian dictionary — it must have evolved on its own. Call it Englitalian [Italinglish? Coined.] ).

And that’s about all I’ve got to hold onto of Italian culture. Although I have more contact with Greece through the Orthodox Christian community and my direct-immigrant grandparents, I’ve never felt particularly connected to either culture. I don’t speak either language, and up until this past summer (when I visited Greece), I’d never been to either country.

People from the United States of America — especially, I think, those in the Northeast — place emphasis on their ethnic heritage that those from other countries around the world do not. Ask an American, and they’ll probably know where their blood comes from — if the records of their ancestor’s immigration do exist. Ask an Italian, or a Spaniard, and they probably will not. Odds are, in fact, that their blood will be just that: Italian, or Spanish.

The USA is a country built on immigrants, and it continues to be so to this day — and to me, it somehow feels wrong to not know anything about your cultural background.

This is a weirdly complex topic — one that I’ve thought about a lot —but bear with me here (and keep in mind, this is all from my personal point of view, and I welcome all new perspectives! Feel free to send me a message to discuss🙂). I think that, in the more liberal sphere of American adolescents, it’s almost “bad” to not know anything about your heritage — especially among white people, which is a label that I identify with. The USA has done a lot of messed up stuff in the world, and I think this is true to an extent that young Americans feel a desire to distance themselves from their nationality.

Instead, we grasp on to what we have that sets us apart from it — where our parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents come from. It gives us something to point to in conversations, something that lets us say “see, look, I’m not just a white-washed American, I’m cultured”, something to help us feel like we have more depth — especially in a country where everything feels like it comes from something else.

This is why I mentioned above that this is more common in the Northeast — although I can only truly speak on what I’ve experienced in Northern Virginia and in the University of Michigan. When I think of the term “melting pot”, I think of places like New York City. Southern states, and perhaps those in the West, have developed a culture that feels more unique, more distinctly American, and this is why (from my outside perspective) it seems like something more people feel proud of and claim as their own.

As I mentioned, this perspective comes from personal experience. And this is all something I’ve felt as a white American, at least 2 generations removed from my “mother countries”. After spending a weekend in Italy, I finally got a piece of that contact that I had always craved.

Italo-

Italian culture is just that — uniquely italian. Food, history, architecture, art — not only is it unique, but it is rich. From the first day that I spent with Gaia and Camilla, it was apparent that they felt a deep connection, pride, and understanding of their culture — and this is something that they graciously and enthusiastically shared with me.

I now have a greater — albeit limited — understanding of what it means to be Italian, in Italy. I learned about Italian espresso, when to have it (spoiler alert — any time of day is game), how to prepare it, and how it tastes. Some of my favorite moments of the trip were peacefully spent over the breakfast table in Gaia’s home, enjoying a light carb heavy breakfast and freshly brewed coffee.

We ate simple, delicious food at every restaurant we went to. The food was less extravagant than I expected it to be. Most of the meals were simple, with a focus on the ingredients and their preparation. Pastas, pizza, Milanese, Ragu, more pasta. Tiramisu, and gelato, too.

We had a night out — first to aperitivo, then to dinner, then to a bar that was built in an old desecrated church, then to a cheesy karaoke bar where the whole place was singing old Italian songs at the top of their lungs — with a group of 12 in Gaia’s hometown, which was made up of friends stemming from her high school days. The biggest difference between the Italian dinner party and an American one — we took our time. There was a feeling of ease at the table. Nothing was rushed. We enjoyed each dish, each glass of wine, and over everything, enjoyed each other’s company. The focus was on the people and the conversation, not on what was to be ordered and how fast it came out. I hope to bring this rhythm back to Ann Arbor with me (but that may be more difficult than I think. See footnote 1 below*).

We explored multiple Italian cities, and walked a TON. I learned an interesting perspective of Milan (which was a beautiful city) from Camilla’s boyfriend — Milan is Italy to Europe, and Milan is Europe to Italy. (See footnote 2**). The architecture was beautiful, and after a rainstorm, Milan looked magical. The ground was sparkling, reflecting the dramatically lit buildings of the city center in the puddles that gathered on the ground. I saw the Italian countryside, picturesque rolling hills backdropped by an epic sunlit cumulo-nimbus cloud.

I even learned a base of the Italian language (I probably said “Come si dice” 100 times) that will serve me well if and when I want to learn it in the future — or if I ever get my Italian citizenship and decide to move there. Guess only time will tell.

-americano

3 days is not a long period of time, but I can confidently say now that I understand a little better what it means to be Italian. I feel more connected to my cultural heritage — and in turn, I feel more connected than ever to my native culture in the USA.

It’s true that the USA has done a bunch of messed up stuff in the world. Imperialism, war crimes, political and economical extortion — the list goes on. But the longer I spend in Europe — the more I come into contact with different cultures, and understand foreign perspectives on the USA — the less these things feel like they’re inside a black box. Instead of avoiding these hard truths, I can face them head on — allowing me to acknowledge the bad and the good that comes with US culture.

A big critique I’ve heard abroad is that the United States has no culture of its own — but I don’t think that’s true. The USA is a place where global cultures collide, providing its citizens the opportunity to experience bits and pieces of the world and giving rise to unique elements born from this fusion.

Over the past 2 months, I’ve slowly shifted away from the feeling of shame that comes with being an American in Europe — and that’s thanks to a willingness to learn, adapt to, and accept cultures that I experience while I’m abroad (re: cultural humility, blogpost coming soon). Now, I’ll proudly say that I’m 50% Greek, 50% Italian, and 100% American. With my continuously evolving understanding of my individual parts (and all of the other cultures I come into contact with, especially Spain), I feel like I can better understand and contribute to that fusion, both in the melting pot of the United States, and as an international citizen in Europe — enriching the lives of myself and those I come into contact with.

Such is becoming “cultured” — a concept that has a bit of a pretentious connotation (IMO), but is worth striving for. I’ll be returning to Italy for spring break (Rome, Florence), so hopefully I’ll continue to develop this connection then. I also bookmarked in Google maps here all the places I visited in Italy this trip (and will do so in the next one) if you're considering taking a trip and want recommendations!

I planned on writing about Sevilla this week too, but I think this post has gone on long enough. I thoroughly enjoyed the different vibe it has from Spain, even through the rainy weather we experienced.

As always, check out the image descriptions for more details on each one. I hope everyone has a great rest of their week, and see you back here next soon!

Hasta luego,

Niko Economos

Aerospace Engineering

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Madrid, Spain

* In Italy, and the rest of Europe, servers get paid fair wages. In the USA, it’s not required, because it’s expected that servers will make up the difference in tips. I worked as a server for 2 summers, and made $3.50 an hour. The amount of money I made in a night was directly correlated to the number of tables I turned over. As a result, I did my best to get orders in fast, food out faster, and clear the table as quickly as I could so that I could make more money. Until this fact changes, I think it’s hard to have the same no-rush Italian experience over dinner unless you’re really conscious of it. Personally, if I’m not feeling pressure from a server to leave quickly, I’m likely feeling a sense of guilt for staying too long and reducing their nightly wage, no matter how well I tip. Maybe home cooked meals are the answer, which I’ll hopefully be well practiced with next semester :)

**To Europeans, they look at Milan and see what they think of Italy. The world capital of fashion, beautiful architecture, prosperous and well known city. Italians look at Milan and see what they think of as Europe —highly international, intercultural, and as a result more gentrified and expensive. I found this to be really interesting. Is there a US city that fits this bill?

#UmichEnginAbroad #IPEUC3M #NikoEconomos #IPEWinter24 #Spain

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blackcoffeeandblankpagess · 1 year

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What is UP homies

Somehow find myself here every few months. It’s been a sec. Updates!

-have finally found myself (dare I say it?) enjoying law school again for the first time since…the beginning (lolz)

-my class is graduating in may but alas I will be done in december since I took time off but absoLUTELY no regrets on that

-AND instead of spending my summer studying for the bar I will be spending six weeks in europe 😍😍😍 10 days of a lil trip with jared’s fam and then doing a law study abroad program in italy for a month 😍😍😍😍😍😍

-have been a FIEND for SJM books since mid december. Read all of ACOTAR. All of CC. And now halfway through TOG. Incredible!!!!!

-theo is perfect as per usual (duh)

-have been to berkeley, colorado, and seattle in the past two months. lots of moving around.

-last weekend when I was in seattle it was just a friend trip not a jared trip and ugh it’s so fun to travel with your pals sometimes??? So many laughs. And my first concert since like…pre covid?? Im not even sure who the heck knows anymore. What is time

Feeling kinda…good??? What the fuck lol

#personalposts #3L #wa #co #ca #myfood #books

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malarign · 10 months

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JOOO OMGG

I didn't know you studied abroad! I did too! it was last summer, I went to Italy for around 3 months. I'm actually leaving for Portugal through study abroad again next week! I wanted to do South Korea this year, but i'll try next year for that! so glad everything was nice over there tho apart from the flood thing, lmao

omgg that sounds so cool!! hope you’ll have fun in portugal!! ❤️❤️

#🏷️jey!

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theclowncowboy · 1 year

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thanks for the tag @headgehug and thank u for not color of the skying me <3 gbless

relationship status: very single (happily, but that doesnt stop one from yearning)

favorite color: forest green, burnt oranges, dark browns, any blues, blood red (earthy tones>jewel tones)

3 favorite foods: i can fuck up any pasta, soup, or yalanchi u put in front of me (where i live its very hard to come by good yalanchi but its fine we prevail) if we wanna go into specific (we=me) ill say chicken marsala, fiedo soup and yalanchi :3

song stuck in my head: .......1882 wings. as it has been for the past fucking 12 days

last thing i googled: ive been using this website called “songslikex” in an attempt to expand my taste a bit :) last song i was trying to find smth similar to was “im your man” leonard cohen

dream trip(s): like prev said a roadtrip in america is like. yeah. ive been really wanting to go to the east coast (ive never been? always wanted to see Maine being a big nerd about stephen king movies, and boston/pittsburgh) uhh even a europe road train trip would be amazing. i might get the chance to study abroad in italy next summer so cheers to that! 🍻

time: 10:44 am :( im tired

anything i really want rn: to go back to BED.. i didnt go to sleep till 4 am. also sushi. <3

tagging uhh: @dickiemcgee @synchroonicity uhhh thats all i can think of SORRY no obligations obviously...if anyone else has urges to do it tho just lie.....ill edit the post for u :p

#thanks oomf!!#i love tag games it forces me to look inside myself. grabbing myself by the ankles and shaking rapidly hoping smth falls out of my pockets #tag game

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enigmaticxbee · 1 year

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@baronessblixen and @amplifyme offered this up to anyone who wanted to play 💕

1. Are you named after anyone? My parents met serving in the Peace Corps in Tonga in the South Pacific and knew someone there named Sela - I’m not exactly named after her though, I think they just liked the name.

2. When was the last time you cried? I’m pretty sure I teared up at something I was watching or reading last week, but the last time I cried hard was at the ending of His Dark Materials - that book always gets me, and the show did a great job with the ending.

3. Do you use sarcasm? Uh, yeah 😅

4. What’s the first think you notice about people? Huh, I don’t know, I’ll have to pay more attention… I notice hair a lot, that’s what I typically use to try to learn to recognize my new students.

5. What’s your eye color? Brown

6. Scary movie or happy ending? Usually happy ending

7. Any special talents? I tap dance

8. Where were you born? In Japan, although I’m not Japanese, my parents just lived there for a few years

9. What are your hobbies? Dancing (I take jazz classes and I teach tap), reading, drawing (I should do more of the second two)

10. Do you have any pets? Gillybean, a little dachshund mix. She’s going to be 3 at the end of the month!

11. What sports do you play/have played? Never played any competitive sport, never had any interest. I’ve danced since I was 7 though.

12. How tall are you? 5’-1” rounding up, not even as tall as GA 😅

13. What was your favorite subject in school? Math and art. I came up with Architecture as career path because it seemed like a good combination of those.

14. Dream job? I had it one summer in grad school, I was paid to go to Italy and TA an architectural drawing study abroad program as the language TA, which meant I just had to translate a little and buy train tickets and stuff, but mostly got to hang out in Italy and draw and they paid me to do it 😍

Tagging anyone else who wants to play!

#tag game

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kirsten-scstudyabroad · 1 year

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Study Abroad: Intro

Hello everybody! My name is Kirsten Clark, and I am one of USC’s Global Correspondents for this upcoming semester. I am currently sitting on my flight to Amsterdam, which begins the four-month adventure of living in Sorrento, Italy studying at Sant’Anna Institute! I am so fortunate to have this opportunity and feel even luckier to share it with others through this platform. I am originally from the Virginia Beach area but have lived in The Outer Banks for the past two summers! If you couldn’t tell by now, I love to be on the go, so I’ve known studying abroad in college was something to seriously consider. That being said, I am entering my second semester of junior year as a Visual Communications Major in The Journalism and Mass Communications School. If you know me, you know how obsessed I am with my major and I could go on and on about my love for the J school.

This past year, I also served as a University 101 Peer Leader, which greatly enhanced my experience at USC, and I hope to continue that role into my senior year. The University 101 Program at USC is nationally ranked as the best first-year seminar. Over the fall semester, I co-taught a class of nineteen freshmen showing them all the ways I love USC and how to get the most out of their time here… because it goes REALLY fast! They really are your biggest cheerleaders and want the best for you. I had no idea I could make that large of an impact on students in such a short time.

Not only am I exposed to the digital world every day because of my major…photography, videography, and blogging are all things I have found a large passion for in the last five years. Growing up with my mom as a professional photographer, I was introduced to lifestyle early on, and fell in love with the flexibility and interpersonal connections the career offered. I knew from a very young age I desired a lifestyle that offered freedom to work wherever, whenever. Now more than ever is the time for people like me to immerse in the opportunities social media is handing to us. The chances of blooming in the digital marketing niche are higher now more than ever especially when you find joy in the things that will make you succeed, such as photography and blogging. I am overzealous about the opportunity to not only study abroad, but to also share my experiences to others in hopes to inspire someone else to embark on the same adventure.

Not being back in Columbia for the spring will be strange, but I am so overjoyed for the adventure ahead. I chose to study abroad through the Global Partner option with USC. This means the program is not directly affiliated with USC, however, I still am enrolled as a student. In my opinion, this option was the easiest to navigate finically since all tuition, housing, and insurance were paid to a third party, in this case, SAI. SAI is a popular option for most people I know studying abroad, which I believe is due to the multitude of diverse options for host countries. Sorrento, Italy is not a popular place to study overseas, so I was driven toward this program type when I saw it was available.

The program fees for my specific program included housing, tuition, textbooks, and health insurance which was very transparent from the start. SAI has a representative assigned to you once you enroll, and they are excellent about updating and reminding students of things to do before departure. SAI also takes care of housing and roommates, which is a huge relief when thinking of moving to a foreign country by yourself. You can either live in an apartment with other SAI students, a host family, or university-provided housing. I am delighted with my experience with SAI so far and would recommend this program to anyone interested in studying abroad.

While I must remember my main purpose of this adventure is education, I am so excited to have the accessibility to travel around Europe during this time. I already have a mental bucket list of places I want to go and things I want to see while I am here. Throughout the semester I will be uploading blog posts to this platform regarding my travels and experiences living in Sorrento, Italy from now until May!

#studyabroad #travel photography #travelblogger #photographer #photography #blogger

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dicmondskies · 1 year

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☆ & * . ♡ I N T R O D U C T I O N …

[ ◟ KAY. ◝ ] ⸻ have you ever heard breathe by pink floyd , well it is FLORA HARRAK to a tee . the twenty five year old yoga instructor at club yoga has been spotted wandering down portobello road markets just last sunday , do you know them ? would you say they are more rose colored or more humanitarian ? anyway , they remind me of white go-go boots ; stretching in sunflower fields ; a fairy house in the woods ; books lining the living room as a makeshift library , maybe you'll catch them around yeah ? ⸻ [ ◟ ROWAN BLANCHARD. ◝ ]

trigger warning: kidnapping, psychedelics

for a long time, flora harrak was confused on just exactly who they were. growing up, they always sensed something different about themselves from their parents. they were an only child, and though they felt their parents loved them dearly, they couldn’t shake the feeling that they didn’t belong somehow. everything was too picture perfect. their house, the way their parents always had the same fake cookie cutter smile plastered on their faces. they had everything they could need to be happy, but yet deep inside there was something bothering them, something keeping them from being truly happy. for a long time, flora went through life unsure of why they felt so strongly out of place in their life. they could never get to the bottom of it until they were around nineteen. it was summer break going into their sophomore year of college when they signed up to study abroad in italy for a year. it would be the first time flora would travel by plane, and they wouldn’t stop talking about the trip from the start. to their surprise, suddenly their parents wouldn’t let them go, they shut their dreams of italy down quickly and claimed it was due to financial reasons. none of their excuses made any sense and flora made the decision to go behind their backs.

at the airport they learned of their true identity, flora harrak, and they’d been taken from a shopping mall when they were four and changed their name to fiona johnson. ripped away from their mother and father, good people, people who loved them dearly. people who were dying to see them return safely. it was all too much for flora. how could they have not known they were a missing persons this whole time? none of it was easy to grasp. the whole thing was straight out of a movie scene. they were in line, waiting to be searched and go through the baggage lines when a stranger recognized their face from one of the advanced sketches police put out that showed what they would look like at their older age. though it wasn’t completely accurate, the sketch was similar enough to spark the interest of the police on site at the airport and sure enough, they took them into custody and explained everything to them, letting them know that the sweet, basic, and somewhat boring parents that they’d known all their life, were criminals, monsters who ripped them away from the true life they were meant to live.

their world had come crumbling down around them seemingly overnight and soon they found themselves having to get on a stand in the courts to testify against the family they once thought was their own. this life changing event pushed flora out of their comfort zone and forced them to go on a self discovery journey. everything they ever knew was a lie, and now they had to sort out what parts of themselves were true and what parts they’d molded to as a result of being raised by their fake parents. it took a lot of time, but eventually flora was able to open up to and trust their biological parents. they started to spend time with them, learn them, and bond with their siblings. everyone loved and missed them so much, the pressure was so much, but they knew it was something they would have to push past. they wanted to belong, they wanted to be loved by them.

now, it’s been six years, and life with their biological family has been more than anything she could ever imagine. they finally feel the connectedness that was lacking in her early childhood. they fit right in and saw so many of the similarities they shared with their mother, father, and even their siblings. they do not speak to the people they once called family, and have decided to let them live out there punishment in jail wondering about them, they refuse to speak to them. flora still struggles with the whole experience, it was a lot more traumatic to her than people realize and sometimes they hate being recognized as the girl who was kidnapped and grew up with another family until they were nineteen. it was hard not to be fascinated with her story but they were much more than that one plotline. flora started to connect with holistic medicine and practices for health like yoga, pilates, meditating, reiki, and herbal remedies.

flora is a total hippy, you’ll always catch them in something from the 70′s or 80′s, they love bell bottoms, groovy patterns, and bright psychedelic colors. speaking of psychedelics, flora takes shrooms once a month and you can often find her micro dosing for her adhd. they are the kind of girl who collects vintage records and takes her 90′s polaroid with her everywhere. they shop in thrift stores for clothing finds, and they are always outside in nature being one with the earth. they are always barefoot and preaching about kindness and acceptance. they are usually the sunshine in the room, lifting up others and making room for positive vibes no matter the situation.

#nothillhqintro #floraharrak

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graziadiocenterilpostino · 2 months

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A letter on what's new at the Graziadio Center

Dear Friends of Il Postino,

Welcome to the Spring 2024 semester!

It is already March, and things are in full swing here at the Graziadio Center.

On February 7th, the Graziadio Center, in collaboration with the Clorinda Donato Center, RGRLL, and Università Roma3, organized a one-day event on the Telecollaboration program entitled Empowering Language Learners: Multilingualism And Motivation In Telecollaboration Programs. Professors Diego Cortés Velásquez and Elena Nuzzo (Roma3) gave a presentation and a hands-on workshop on telecollaboration. A roundtable with former participants enlightened our audience on the benefits of this pedagogical approach and a second roundtable, led by our instructors, focused on the future of this collaboration that started some six years ago. The event gave us food for thought and a clearer vision for the program’s future iterations. Meanwhile, it has been decided that our students of ITAL 100B, a class taught by Joanna Tatro, will participate in the Spring 2024 Telecollaboration.

On March 7th at 5:00 PM, Dr. Ilaria Tabusso-Marcyan (ASU) gave a talk entitled, “The Feminine Aspect in the Cultural Roots of Slow Food” in LA1-204 and via Zoom.

Dr. Tabusso-Marcyan examined the feminine aspects of Italian farming culture within recent Italian history and their influence in shaping the cultural foundations of the international movement of Slow Food. Ilaria’s presentation covered parts of her recently published book, The Cultural Roots of Slow Food: Peasants, Partisans, and the Landscape of Italian Resistance (Lexington Books, 2024).

Our last event for the semester will be a talk by renowned scholar Serenella Jovino (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) on Italo Calvino’s animals and the Anthropocene, the date and other details will be shared soon.

Last summer, some twenty students took advantage of our summer abroad program in Recanati and spent four full weeks of class in this beautiful, little town in the Marche region. They enjoyed the experience enormously and came back galvanized and ready to continue their studies in Italian at CSULB. The importance of the Recanati program cannot be overstated, as it has historically helped us increase the number of our minors.

Program Assistant Diego Brol Batres is working to ensure that the new cohort will be as numerous and satisfied as the previous ones. He has toured high schools and community colleges to recruit students and has given presentations here at CSULB to prepare students for their time in Italy. It looks like another 20 students will go to Recanati this summer!

This issue of Il Postino features interviews with our Majors, MA students, alumni, and, for our Faculty Spotlight, alumna and instructor Jaclyn Taylor.

All of them have spent time in Recanati or in Italy (Lesly Valtierra is currently studying at the Ca’ Foscari University, in Venice!). They are our best ambassadors in that they can share their experiences and passion for all things Italian. They all have their own personal perspective and a unique background, and it is a pleasure to have them share their thoughts and enthusiasm on the pages of our newsletter.

Thank you all for your contribution to Il Postino–we wish you the best for this semester and your overall academic career!

Next semester, we hope to have up to eight new BA students. Which means, if everything goes as planned, and we are doing our best to achieve that, we will have a total of 14 Italian Studies majors in Fall 2024! This is a sign of a positive trend that started last year and hopefully will continue for the semesters to come. Showing growth is a good sign, especially when many language departments struggle and are under scrutiny all over the country.

Club Italia is another tremendous asset for the Graziadio Center, as it works tirelessly to promote Italian on campus. We thank you for all your work!

With Lesly Valtierra studying in Italy, Club Italia was in need of a new Treasurer; their new lineup of officers is now:

Antonina Campbell, Ailyn Saavedra, Nikki Jerman, Alberto Sanchez Alonso, Maria Gabriela Tapia, and Josue Mendiola

To find out each officer’s role, look for the Club Italia section below!

In addition to hosting Tavola Italiana (every other Wednesday at 5 in AS-384), they are also preparing an event to showcase how a BA in Italian can help you in your post-CSULB life (and perhaps change it)!

We will provide details on this exciting event soon; please check your inbox and your social media accounts for flyers.

Buon semestre e a presto!

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umichenginabroad · 9 months

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Sorrento Week 11: End of an Era

I can’t believe my study abroad experience has come to an end. These two months have been some of the most memorable in my life and although I am ready to go home, I will definitely miss all the fun times I had. I will also miss sharing my experiences with others through this blog. For this last post I want to give some final thoughts on my experience and advice for future study abroad students!

One of the main things I wanted to touch on in my final post was transportation in Sorrento. The buses and train systems may seem a bit daunting to navigate at first but they are truly helpful to travel around and relatively cheap. I remember in the first couple of weeks when I was in Sorrento I walked for 40 minutes to get somewhere when I could have just used a bus to get there in half the time. Also, most people are always willing to help so I would definitely recommend asking someone.

I also wanted to mention my experience with GeoBlue insurance since I did have to use it once. When I was in Milan for a weekend I got an infection in my ankle that needed immediate attention from a doctor. Emergency rooms in Italy are a mess with wait times over 4 hours often so I was unsure what to do but I was able to connect with an individual doctor through the GeoBlue app and he was able to give me an appointment for the next morning. In addition, the doctor happened to be an American living abroad which made my experience much smoother. After the appointment, the doctor’s office was able to file a claim for payment and I didn’t have to pay anything out of pocket except for the antibiotics which were only 20 euros. The appointment itself turned out to be 300 euros but since I was covered by GeoBlue (as required by IPE) it was very convenient. As a study abroad student, if you ever need medical attention I would recommend using the features offered on the GeoBlue app to find providers.

I also want to share some of my favorites in Sorrento/Italy throughout the time I’ve been here (credit to Reganne for the idea)

Favorite Restaurant: Taverna Azzurra - the salmon pasta is to die for

Favorite Desserts: Coffee gelato at Raki’s and strawberry + nutella crepes - I think I had gelato almost every day whether it was at Raki’s or David’s Gelateria and sometimes if I was feeling even more hungry I would get a crepe from this one place near the dorms (I don’t remember what it’s called)

Best Drink: Aperol Spritz - you either like it or hate it

Favorite City in Italy: Rome - you have to see the Colosseum

Most Beautiful Place: Capri - I really wanted to visit again after I saw it the first time but I unfortunately did not have enough time to.

Most Underrated: Ieranto Bay and Herculaneum - Ieranto Bay is about an hour bus ride from Sorrento and it seems like a lot of people don’t know about it since it is a bit secluded and you need to hike to get there. I highly recommend visiting if you’re visiting the Campania region. Herculaneum is an ancient city similar to Pompeii in that it was buried under ash during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius but it was preserved much better than Pompeii. I didn’t even know about it until I was in Sorrento but it is definitely worth visiting.

Honestly, I don’t think one blog post is enough to talk about all the amazing experiences I’ve had since I have been in Sorrento. There was so much to do and I feel like there is still more I would like to explore in Italy. I will definitely be returning in the future to see everything I missed. Most importantly, the exposure to new culture and lifestyles was definitely enriching and interesting to be a part of. There’s just so much to learn when traveling to a new place and I could not have asked for a better summer. And lastly, I made so many new friends (both from UofM and other universities) that I will cherish forever. Alla prossima!

Satwika Tattari

Space Sciences and Engineering

IPE: Engineering in Sorrento

#SatwikaTattari #ipesummer23 #ipesorrento #italy #umichenginabroad

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hpoxfordprogram · 9 months

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Whimsical Adventures

~by Arya Tadepalli

Deciding to apply for the Oxford Summer Study Abroad program might be one of the best decisions I have made in college. Not only did I learn a lot about the world and was able to embrace different cultures, I also learned a lot about myself along the way as cheesy as that sounds.

I was part of Group 2 (the best group) and our itinerary was as follows: we took a flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam, Netherlands and then another flight to land in our first city Berlin, Germany. From Berlin we bussed to Leipzig, Germany stopping at Wittenberg on the way for lunch. After Leipzig we bussed to Prague, Czech Republic and stopped at Dresden, Germany for lunch. After Prague we went to Vienna, Austria stopping at Brno, Czech Republic on the way. From Vienna we stopped at a cute cabin hotel in the Alps for lunch before going to Lido right outside of Venice, Italy. From Venice we went to Rome, Italy with a quick stop at an Autogrill.

Side note: I am a huuuuuuuuge dog person and every time I saw a dog on this trip I would always squeal and point and say “DOG!” much to the embarrassment of anyone around me. At this Autogrill stop, which is basically what truck stops are called in Italy, I saw this beautiful German Shepherd. I had seen many dogs on the trip, but even with my two years of learning German in school I was not comfortable enough to go up to the dog owner to ask to pet their dog. However, something came over me when I saw this German Shepherd and people speak a lot more english in Italy so I just went up to the owner right before getting on the bus and asked to pet their dog. When they said yes I just started the usual small talk asking what their dog’s name is and how old they are etc. The owner said their dog’s name was Arya!! I then asked the owner how they spelled that name and they said, “A. R. Gamma. A.” I got so excited I said, “Wait! That is my name!” and I even pulled out my drivers license and pointed to my name to show the exact same spelling. Apparently in Italy, they do not have the letter Y so we got over the language barrier by gesturing the letters. Here is a picture of Arya squared.

Going back to the itinerary, when we were in Rome we went to the Vatican City for a day. Then, after Rome, we stopped at Montepulciano in Tuscany for lunch before continuing to Florence, Italy. Florence was the longest city of the travel portion for us and our schedule made it so that we had a half day for independent activities where a majority of us visiting the leaning tower of Pisa and an entire day for independent activities where many of us went to Monterosso in Cinque Terre for the day. From Florence we spent a night in Chamonix, France before leaving for Paris, France the next day. Paris was our last city of the travel portion so we ferried to Oxford, UK after.

I was not sure if I would enjoy the travel portion classes as much because I am more of an outdoorsy person instead of a gallery person, but I now realize those two are not mutually exclusive. I had such a great time learning about the art pieces and artists and then going to the gallery the very same day and seeing the original works of art in person. We went to a variety of famous galleries all over Europe from the Louvre in Paris to the Uffizi and Accademia Galleries in Florence to the Gemaldegalerie in Germany, they were all such cool experiences. The music class was just as fun because we would learn about different aspects of music and then go to a concert in a few cities. There were a variety of concerts that we went to. Our first concert was in Berlin where we saw the Berliner Philharmoniker perform the Turangalila Symphony which is a modern piece. Our second concert was at the National Theatre in Prague where we watched the Czech National Ballet and the National Theatre Orchestra present a spectacular performance of the “Onegin” Ballet which is a more Romantic piece. Our third concert was at the Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna where we watched the Schloss Schönbrunn Orchestra play Mozart, Haydn, J. Strauss, O. Strauss, and Lehár pieces which are more part of the Classical time period. The fourth concert was in the San Vidal Church in Venice, Italy where the Venetian Interpreters played Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons as well as Vivalid’s violin concerto and cello concerto. The last concert was in the Sunset underground part of the Sunset/Sunside Club in Paris, France where Larry Crockett and the Funky Cherokees performed jazz. Each gallery and concert made me appreciate the arts so much more and the talent and dedication that goes into every brush stroke or bow movement.

This trip also opened my eyes to how oblivious American tourists are, especially on public transportation. We are generally the biggest and loudest group, pretty clumsy especially the first day we are in the city, tend to hold people up the most when getting on or off buses and trains, and do not stay to the right side of the escalator to let people pass on the left. But we learned from our mistakes and tried to amend them later on in the travel portion. I mostly learned that I like traveling in smaller groups though. One of my friends and I had a plan to watch the sunrise in every city we traveled to and those were genuinely some of my favorite memories from the trip because it would usually just be the two of us planning where to watch the sunrise and traveling public transportation to get there and enjoy the views. This started during the very first city in Berlin when we ran from our hotel to the Brandenburg Gate for some pretty views.

Leipzig was the only city that we missed. In Prague we watched the sunrise from the Charles bridge. In Vienna we started near the Prater amusement park and walked around the city watching the sun rise. In Venice we watched the sunrise from the beach our hotel was right next to. In Florence we watched the sunrise from a park near our hotel. In Chamonix we hiked at 3AM up the French Alps near Mont Blanc doing a bunch of switchbacks below the Ski Lift that was shut off for the night.

In Paris my sunrise buddy fell asleep on me, but I was determined to maintain the streak especially since Paris was our last city of the travel portion so I mustered up the courage to travel Paris public transportation on my own at 5AM and I went to the Trocadero Square. This was a huge milestone for me because I had never traveled on my own before other than a few city exploration walks in well lit populated places and this experience was a culmination of all the tricks I had learned during traveling and Paris is notorious for pickpocketing so I had to be aware of my surroundings at all times.

I was able to apply everything I learned to my weekend trips I took during the Oxford portion. The first weekend we were told to stay in Oxford so I explored the town. The second weekend I went to Dublin. The third weekend I went to Amsterdam, Brussels, and Brugge. The fourth weekend I went to Wales and London, and the fifth weekend I went to Edinburgh. My favorite place during the Oxford portion was actually a 30 minute walk from Mansfield college and is called Port Meadow. I made it a point to go there every Sunday right after dinner to see the wild horses and cows and enjoy the sunset. It was such a magical place for me especially when the horses would come up to you to be petted because it made me feel like the chosen one.

All in all, the Oxford Study Abroad experience taught me a lot about being a considerate and respectful traveler and gave me the opportunity to immerse myself in the surrounding culture. It also gave me more confidence as a solo traveler and confidence in my ability to handle myself in general under various different circumstances.

#submission #gthonors #georgiatech #gthp #gojackets #gtoxford2023 #gtoxfordprogram #honorsprogram

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