IES Abroad Milan

For four months, I studied and lived in Milan, Italy. I arrived in January, and adapted to the Milanese way of life and embraced the culture entirely. I have entirely fell in love with Milan, grown significantly more comfortable in my Italian language skills, and met so many wonderful people. Most weeks, I traveled on the weekends to other European nations; during the week, I made sure to visit a new museum or place of cultural significance. I am constantly learning and am in awe of something new each day. As an Italian major, this experience has allowed me to finally be immersed in the subject that I have been studying for years. Although I have been fortunate to study Italian prior to my time as a student at Penn State University, I believe that being put in real-life situations has challenged me to develop my Italian skills significantly. At the doctor's office or the hair salon, I surprised myself finding the correct Italian words, when under pressure to describe an ailment or hair color shade. Being in an Italian-speaking environment has allowed me to utilize my textbook education towards real-world application.