La Dolce Vita in Siracusa, Sicilia!

Ortigia is a small paradise in Sicily, Italy, and one of the sunniest regions in the entire country. It's home to Arcadia's study abroad program through the Mediterranean Center for Arts and Sciences. A typical day in the life? Heaven: I woke up at 8:00 in the morning and showered. My housemates and I walked the cobblestone streets and soaked up the sunshine until we arrived at our favorite local café on Via Roma. We ordered our croissants and cappuccinos, and we enjoyed our breakfast with one another. Afterwards, we walked to our first class of the day. On our way to Italian language, we admired the garden at school and greeted the old beautiful man who took care of the flowers as if they were his babies. Salvatore, the gardener, is just one person on the island whose soul is as radiant as the place itself. Anyone who calls this region in Sicily home has a big heart and a gorgeous kind of curiosity and patience that is so rare and inspiring. After Italian, I went to my film photography course. This course planted a seed inside of me for this timeless art form, and the professor's passion magnified my own desire to become a wonderful photographer. By the end of my semester in Sicily, my classmates and I hosted our very own exhibit in which we showcased our work like professional photographers. I have never felt better or more proud of anything in my entire life. I cried both tears of joy and sorrow that night because the exhibit meant that my time in Ortigia was drawing to a close. I digress. After classes, I taught young local Italian students how to speak, read, and write English. Two of my peers in the study abroad program voluntarily co-taught this TESOL course with me for the kids in our neighborhoods. They came to our school and we would teach them a few nights a week. Dinner mostly consisted of pizza and red wine. My friends from Ortigia and study abroad sat around my kitchen table together like a happy family. We ate, laughed, shared stories, and enjoyed the company for hours. Dinner was usually followed by a walk to the sea. We sat on a big rock and looked up at the stars, humbled by our insignificance yet feeling larger than life itself in such an amazing place. Homework somehow was completed and my studies went very smoothly. I learned about Sicilian culture and traditions more so by the friendships I made and the rituals I made sure to partake in than the books, but classes definitely set the context for real life situations during my time abroad. The people in Siracusa, Sicily, have become my most special memory of the place. I see their faces and I remember their names, their stories, their friendliness, and how welcomed I felt from my first day there. I knew when I left that I would be missed because I had become a part of a family in Sicily. Whether at the market, relaxing on a bench in one of many piazzas, at a local pizzeria, or even just on a casual night stroll, I always managed to form connections with locals that became very meaningful to me. I can't put into words the feeling I have about Sicily. All I can do is tell you that I left my soul in Ortigia. I still dream about Sicily and about the life I left there, the life I hope to return to one day in the near future. I couldn't have asked for a better study abroad experience. I am truly thankful for every single day that I spent in Ortigia. Arcadia knows how to do study abroad!