Tomorrow is my last full day in Milan…What?! Where has the time gone? My days have been spent traveling to different cities and countries while taking in all Europe has to offer. It has been a whirlwind experience, and definitely an invaluable one. I have learned so much about Italian culture, and Milan was a huge part of that. Milan specifically was amazing because it is so easy to travel and it is very modern, however it is also very metropolitan and busy. There was always something new to do in Milan, which kept us really busy!

When you go to study abroad, the lure of being in another country is sure to pull you out of the typical student mindset at times. Personally, with everything that Tokyo has to offer, that ended up happening quite a bit. Between themed restaurants, two Disney parks, all you can eat sushi, and arcades, I was pretty much concerned with anything but studying for a large portion of the time I have spent here. However, studying abroad is exactly that, STUDYING abroad.

I am a mere sixty hours away from landing in the Philadelphia Airport, and, while I of course want to see my family, I just don’t want to leave this place.

These last few weeks have been incredible. Throughout this entire program, I’ve never felt more connected with the people on it than the past two weeks. Mary and I stood on top of the Duomo Facade the other day, on top of Siena really, and looked around at the city that’s become our home for the last four months.

“It’s 1:27 pm. I cannot believe this day is here, considering all I’ve experienced and how far I’ve come since August 02. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that this experience is over– I’ve taken so much from it, yet I feel like there is still more to learn, see and feel.”  This is how my last journal entry from Ecuador begins.

Before going abroad, one of the terms you hear thrown around the most is “culture shock.” Put simply, culture shock is just your realization that you are in a culture different than the one you grew up comfortable with, and you are personally affected because of that. Culture shock does not necessarily have to be negative as so many people make it seem, as there are positive realizations about different cultures that are possible to have when studying abroad.