One year ago, I heard that Sister Terri Bednarz, a religious studies professor, was creating a study abroad program in Rome for summer 2011. It has always been my dream to go to Italy, so my immediate thought was, “I’m going to Rome next summer.”

I was determined to make my dream come true. For once, I went with my heart instead of stressing over logistics; it was a true blessing how everything just fell into place. Nine months later, I boarded my first trans-Atlantic flight.

What followed became the best four weeks of my life. I only wish it could have lasted longer.

For as much preparation as I did leading up to this trip, I am not sure I could have prepared myself enough for what I actually experienced. I don’t think I was meant to do that, though. I kept my heart and mind open going into the trip, and I was overwhelmed by it all in the best way possible.  

There are invaluable aspects of studying abroad that simply cannot be experienced in the classroom.

This was a concept I have always been told at study abroad info sessions, but I did not actually grasp it until I walked the streets of Rome and immersed myself in the lifestyle.  

Having class with Sister Terri on the steps of Piazza del Popolo and with English professor John Sebastian in the courtyard of St. John’s University was a giant leap of adventure away from Bobet 332, where we met just a short month earlier for our group orientation.  

Each day in Italy, I was left with a constant feeling of bewilderment, excitement and curiosity about the history, language and ancient surroundings of the beautiful city.

Walking through the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, seeing “La Pieta” inside of St. Peter’s Basilica, visiting the tomb of Pope John Paul II, meeting the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, sipping a cappuccino outside a cafe in Campo de’ Fiori, attending a papal audience with Pope Benedict XVI, climbing the hills of Assisi to the top of a castle…these were all things I thought I would only see in movies or read about in history textbooks and Wikipedia.

One of the students in our group identified “Rome-sick” as the feeling she had once we left Rome.

Not a day has gone by that I have not thought about or missed my time in Italy. Everyone is probably sick of hearing me talk about it so much.

I think that just means that I had one extraordinary, irreplaceable month.  

I will never forget our last night in Rome when we had a group dinner followed by a wrap-up reflection in St. Peter’s Square.

Just as we finished reflecting on our amazing month together, fireworks illuminated the night sky above the Castel Sant’Angelo near Vatican City. 

It was a beautiful ending to an unbelievable month in the Eternal City.

Being immersed in the culture of Italy has reinforced my desire to experience the other cultures in this world waiting to be explored by people like you and me. 

If you are thinking even the slightest bit about studying abroad, just do it. I promise you will not regret one moment of it. In the words of a good friend of mine, “The possibilities are endless.”

Michelle Rau can be reached at [email protected]