Rome, the home of amazing art and architecture, delicious food, and cobblestones I tripped on every ten steps. Rome was the first international city I’ve had the pleasure of traveling to. The thought of traveling to another country was completely foreign to me; living there for a whole semester, seemed mind blowing. Nonetheless, I was inspired by so many of my friends who were international students, that uplifted their whole life to come to the U.S. to study. What better way to understand their experience than to create one for myself?
I grew up in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. It was the land of midnight Target runs, 2 a.m. tacos, Korean barbecue, or ramen, and boba in the San Gabriel Valley to catching a sunset in Santa Monica. As I prepared for my trip abroad, I was so excited for all of the things I was going to see such as the Trevi Fountain, Villa Borghese, and other touristy things in Rome. I couldn’t wait to be surprised by the street art, gallery art, and the architecture all around me. I dreamt about trying Roman dishes while picking up local customs. And Rome was just the beginning. I was thrilled to catch a concert by Eden on his European tour, Santorini, Greece and the Amalfi coast for spring break, Amsterdam for the Van Gogh Museum and the tulip fields in late April, Paris, Berlin, and Barcelona.
I was worried through each step of the process. As we got closer and closer to the deadline I was afraid that I couldn’t afford study abroad, not while trying to make the most of it. I wasn’t sure how I was going to react to a new environment and learn how to embrace that uncomfortable feeling. It didn’t help that as transfer student and a commuter, I didn’t know that many people at USC, and I only knew one or two people going to Rome. However, I knew that my cohort were the people who would also be having a similar experience. Some of these people that I would meet and connect with would soon become the people I could rely on while abroad.
In the end, it all worked out. I applied to many scholarships, such as the Gilman Scholarship, the Ashley Soule Conroy Foundation, and Annenberg Success Fund and received a few. Once in Rome, I got my new roommate, Aileen, and my apartment mates Sarine and Maysa. I knew Maysa and Sarine and I had been messaging Aileen a month or so before our departure. So it was getting easier to ease into Rome…or so I thought.
The culture shock was real. It took getting used to stores closing at 7-7:30 p.m. on evenings during the first week. The pace of life was a bit slower, but that made the experience more personal and unrushed. Dinners had more courses, started later, and could last longer than 2 hours. One of my favorite memories of Rome was an alfresco dinner with friends at Tonnarello recapping our last trip and new places we’ve visited. Dinner reservations were important when going to different cities. People stood closer to you when talking. The struggle of trying to communicate early on without speaking Italian was difficult.
Slowly all of these things weren’t such a big deal; it just took getting used to. There are different ways to immerse yourself into a culture, but I chose food. Trying new foods in different neighborhoods, learning how to like wine, getting used to the setting were all roads to learning and exploring the different parts of Roman culture. It was having Amatriciana, a Roman dish, at Da Enzo or Nannerella’s in Trastevere, grocery shopping in Esquilino, a cappuccino and cornetto at SciaScia in Prati, Trippa alla Romana in Testaccio. The food allowed me to observe different interactions, practice my Italian, and pick up cultural norms. Our classes at ACCENT only helped enrich our experiences and deepen our immersion. Communication Italian Style with Sean Patrick Lovett was amazing because we were able to visit the sites and learn about the historical significance of sites and figures. Rhetoric of Rome with Chiara Lucarelli focused on the media and how different time periods affected the cinematic arts and reflected the architecture that is Rome.
The hardest part of the study abroad experience wasn’t the culture shock but leaving before our time was over and dealing with a bit of racism because of the COVID pandemic. Sadly, our program was cut short after two months and all of the plans I had disappeared. In addition, after finally being comfortable in Rome and building bonds with the locals I interacted with on a daily basis, I was being uprooted again. USC students were lucky to have a week to prepare our departure unlike some students from other schools who left immediately when they received the program cancellation updates. It was a rush to fit in all the other things that I wanted to see and do within a week, especially because we thought we had more time. It was hard to do fun things while each day someone was leaving and activities were tinged with the sadness of leaving. However, I was able to find solace in going to art museums and seeing the Impressionisti Segreti exhibit. It was leaving those worries and sadness at the door in order to be in that moment and living that experience. Some of my favorite memories of Rome will be of that last week; 2 am bike rides to the Trevi Fountain, a cooking class at Rimessa Roscioli, and gelato at del Viale on our last night.
I was one of the few Asian students part of the Rome program. While abroad, I wasn’t expecting to face racism. However, as the pandemic got worse, it became more prevalent during the last week in Rome. It started with the little things such wide berths while walking or standing on the train to verbal taunting and harassment from people of all ages on the street. I didn’t expect it to hit so close to home, even with just a ten minute walk from the apartment down the street. It was shocking. I might have expected this back home considering I grew up with it, but not in Italy where the people were so welcoming previously. Each time it happened, it was a passing moment that caught me off guard. So, it was a bit disappointing to have to let it roll off rather than make a scene, especially when alone.
In the Esquilino district of Rome, an ethnically diverse and migrant area, I found a piece of home where I was able to use my terribly rusty mandarin to speak with the Chinese shopkeepers. It was amazing to find out how many people were multilingual in a small area. Overall, this experience showed me a renewed interest in my own culture. I realized that there was so much about the Chinese culture that I didn’t know about and should take an effort to learn more about. Pre-pandemic, after speaking with my parents, I hoped to take a trip to China and learn more about my parent’s roots and about the Hakka culture after graduation. Aside from that, I have gained new travel skills such as planning, adaptability, and necessary budgeting skills. My most favorite skills I’ve picked up abroad are journaling about traveling, an effective way to decompress after long days, and pasta making, specially Amatriciana and Cacio e Pepe.
I am so grateful for this experience to study abroad, despite being cut short. I was lucky to study in an amazing place away from home and granted the opportunity to learn and grow. It would not have been possible without the help of Katy, Georgia, Francesco, Elisabetta, my professors, and of course, my friends for making study abroad as easy as possible and enriching my experience. I have made phenomenal memories and shared in some of the best memories while abroad with my friends. I’ve been bitten by the travel bug and I will find my way back to Rome, whether it be by the wish I made at the Trevi Fountain or the gelato stamp card from Gelateria del Viale.