Hi! My name is Giovanna, I’m 21 years old, and I’m moving to Hamburg in two weeks for Erasmus. This is a series where I will walk you through my life as a student in a foreign country. If you want to come along, feel free to join!
This is zero: why did I decide to leave?
Being from a small town near Naples, Italy, I have always dreamt of traveling and pushing myself over the familiar borders of my hometown. I had the great pleasure of moving to the United Kingdom when I was 17, where I spent some of the best months of my life.
Now, I live in Rome, or best, used to live…
The city hosted and adopted me two years ago when I started my bachelor’s degree. However, in a few days, I will leave the comfort of my home to embark on my newest adventure. Upon knowing my story, most people ask me: “Why do you want to leave? Again?!” The short answer to this is that it just feels right to. When my class was given the chance to fill out the application to move abroad for a few months, I didn’t really put much thought into whether to stay or not, but just settled with the idea that I wouldn’t have spent the next semester in my home university.
Honestly?
Studying abroad is full of ups and downs, and I wouldn’t be fair if I told you that I have always felt excited about moving away. Since I have accepted to move to Germany, I have experienced mixed feelings about going away, even for a few months. I have noticed this recurring pattern also among other international students. The thing is, starting a new adventure is fun and exciting but leaving behind your loved ones is heartbreaking, the least.
For real, moving is time-consuming and absolutely boring; filling out forms and learning agreements is no one’s favorite hobby, and looking for a place to rent is absolutely atrocious. To that, we need to add that you would be staying for months away from family, friends, and everything familiar to spend six months someplace you probably have never been to. This sounds nuts, but it also seems so exciting. Once you get there, though, you will understand that you are not really alone and that your family and friends will still be there for you even if you are away. The crucial point is to understand that you are not the only person experiencing these mixed feelings, that every international student is sharing part of your story, and that you will be able to create some of the strongest connections. The homesickness, the uncertainty, and the desire to jump and dive into a new adventure are the reasons why international students can understand one another, and this gives the greatest sense of tranquility in the uncertainty of it all.
Then why did I decide to go?
I love Rome and feel extremely grateful for the amazing experiences and people I have encountered on my journey, but sometimes leaving is the only way to understand where you are actually meant to be. I already have two homes, with pieces of heart distributed across the globe, some shared among the people I have met and had the privilege to call family for a while and among the places that have welcomed me and have been the background of some of my happiest memories.
For how painful it is to abandon your old life, starting again is a way to re-meet yourself, encounter amazing people with so many different backgrounds, and push yourself through culture shock. I promise you it is worth it, that at the end of those months, you will be glad that, a year before, you decided to fill out an application that came to change your life for the better.