When I first began this journey abroad, one important graph our coordinator showed us was the downward slope that’s created near the end of the journey and how it affects those around you. In this case, it was quite a few factors that created my downward slope. The first of which was my loss of internet. I am currently taking this course as well as a physics course, so not having an internet connection was, honestly, a death sentence. I couldn’t finish my blogs in time and I wasn’t able to reach out to my friends or family because I didn’t have data. This also led to the realization that unlike the U.S., where there are random cafes that give wifi and allow you to sit and work, these cafes don’t exist here. It seems that Italians don’t have this type of lifestyle, which didn’t work in my favor. Once I finally did get an internet connection, I decided to celebrate! Hooray, internet! I may as well go out with friends to enjoy Milan a bit. However, in the process of my celebration, I actually lost my wallet. It was honestly a stab to the chest in an already rough week.
However, even though these events did happen to me and I do feel poorly about it, I do have some bright sides. Thanks to the outstanding staff at IES, I did manage to communicate with the police and file a report, then get a new metro pass at the Centrale station. Also, thanks to the outstanding teacher I have, I was only met with understanding when I couldn’t post my blogs in a timely fashion. So, though these awful events did happen, it didn’t bring me all the way down. I did manage to look on the positive side which was that at least my wallet wasn’t filled with a lot of money or with important documents such as my passport. This situation could have been a lot worse, and we could have even been without an internet connection for longer, but was only without it for most of the week, not for the next week and the weekend. It was quite a turn of events to receive the text saying the internet was back.
I also feel that, just like the graph shown to us, the downward curve does have an incline and I honestly have a greater appreciation for the time I do have and the exhibits that are to come in the future. It seems that these small realizations have shaped and accustomed me to a standard of living in Italy that I was not used to before. It humbles me to my past and my future and makes me grateful for this opportunity at becoming more cultured and being able to laugh about these events. And also hopefully, my family doesn’t get too worried about me being on my own and can trust me a bit more on how I handle a crisis type situation.