It feels so weird writing this knowing it’s my last blog post for my study abroad experience. It has been 4 months full of life changing experiences and life long memories. I’ve grown more than I can put into words and I cannot believe it has flown by as fast as it has.

I never would’ve thought that I would leave this experience visiting 11 new countries (and one new continent!). I’ve gotten to check off so many bucket list items from paragliding in Switzerland to riding camels in Morocco. My yearn to travel and see the world has only grown exponentially as nothing compares to seeing the world and learning all about different cultures from your own.

Learning Italian has been such a rewarding experience. I haven’t taken a language course since high school and this course has reignited my interest in learning new languages, especially when traveling. I never thought I would be taking an oil painting class in Italy but how thankful I am to have gained a new hobby to take with me from this journey. International marketing and its direct alignment with my major has been so much more meaningful while abroad as site visits and projects with students from other universities have made it more effective. I hope to one day take my learnings from this course and apply it to a professional experience.

While taking classes abroad you realize just how much you learn outside of the classroom. Traveling is a classroom of its own and Pitt Business has provided me with such an incredible opportunity to truly take my learnings “to the world”. Observing how much I learned here than what I’m used to back at Pitt it’s hard to even compare as it is such a vastly different environment than I ever realized before this experience.

As I prepare for my summer internship back in Pittsburgh, I am reminded of all of the new professional skills I will bring with me. While I’ve always been a decently independent person, studying abroad has shown me that I am so much more confident in my independence now than I was just 4 months ago.

You don’t know how changed you truly are until you take the time to reflect on all you’ve accomplished. While studying abroad has its challenges your experiences will always be apart of you and wherever you may go.